Clinical Utility of Genomic Testing in Cancer Care

In the era of personalized medicine, physicians rely on their understanding of clinical utility to assess the value of rapidly evolving genetic and genomic tests. Current definitions of the clinical utility of genetic testing sufficiently capture a range of benefits and risks that derive from positive and negative results of tests that assess one gene or a few genes. However, these definitions of clinical utility are inadequate to recognize the wider scope of benefits that accrue from more comprehensive genomic tests, which can develop data sets that inform clinical decision making as well as population health and scientific advancement in novel ways.

An expert roundtable discussion with leaders from multiple sectors of the health care ecosystem was convened to develop a contemporary, fuller definition of the clinical utility of genomic testing in cancer care.

We present an updated definition and offer recommendations for successful implementation.

Applying this expanded definition will encourage evidence-based use of genomic testing in cancer care by helping physicians and other health care decision makers account for the broader range of benefits and risks of testing for individual patients, health systems, population health, and scientific advancement.