What Is Genomic Testing Used For?

Genomic testing is helpful in treating cancer because it looks at how genetic mutations can influence the behavior of cancer, including how aggressive it is, whether it will spread (metastasize) throughout the body, and what treatments might work best.  

Genomic testing is used to study mutations in genes that can influence the behavior of cancer, such as how aggressive it is, whether it will spread (metastasize) throughout the body, and what treatments might work best.  

Genomic testing is not exactly the same as genetic testing. Both genomic testing and genetic testing involve studying genetic material, but genetic testing looks at the genes people inherit from their parents and can help detect a person’s risk for cancers and other diseases. A genetic test is useful to: 

• Predict a person’s risk of getting cancer
• Predict a person’s prognosis if they develop cancer
• Determine which treatments will work best against the cancer

Genomic testing looks at a person’s genome, which is the full set of genetic code (instructions) to look for mutations in cancer that can help predict: 

• How aggressive the cancer is, and how fast it might grow
• Whether the cancer will spread (metastasize) throughout the body

Tumor genomic profiling (also called tumor profiling) can help determine which treatments might be most effective against cancer. 

• A biopsy is taken of the tumor, the cancer cells are isolated and removed from the sample, and the cancer cells’ DNA is sequenced in the lab
• This sequenced genetic profile is then scanned for abnormalities that can tell the doctor how the tumor functions
• When identifiable mutations are found, these are analyzed to see if they match certain mutations that are known to respond to certain treatment options
• This helps make treatment more customized and can minimize side effects