Mehmet Copur, MD, on Multi-Gene Panel Testing for the General Population

Multi-gene panel testing technology has afforded the oncology community the ability to test for multiple cancer susceptibility genes simultaneously, without significantly increasing the cost or turnaround time.

However, while many advocate for using this technology to perform general population screening for hereditary cancers, Mehmet Copur, MD, an oncologist at the Morrison Cancer Center, indicated that this may actually be more harmful if implemented than suggested.

“It harms the patient more than helps,” Copur stated. “When you test everybody with multigene, you end up getting more questions than answers and that increases not only the cost, but also the anxiety among patients too.”

In an interview with CancerNetwork®, Copur explained his aversion to multi-gene panel testing for the general population and the recommendations he believes physicians should follow instead.

This segment comes from the CancerNetwork® portion of the MJH Life Sciences Medical World News, airing daily on all MJH Life Sciences channels.