Webinar | Cancer Genetic Testing: Promises, Challenges, and the Need for Evidence

Genetic testing is ubiquitous and increasingly available in healthcare. Genetic tests analyze genes, proteins, or combinations of DNA, RNA, and proteins, and are intended to provide patient-specific information to inform management, influence treatment decisions, and improve patient-oriented outcomes. Although within the field of oncology, many genetic tests utilize similar methods and platforms, tests with varied clinical applications require different approaches to assessing the evidence supporting their use.

During this webinar, ECRI’s genetic counselor and the senior manager for scientific quality will share an inside look at how ECRI’s Genetic Test Assessment team approaches evidence assessment for cancer genetic tests intended to serve different clinical applications (e.g., diagnostic, prognostic, predictive, treatment monitoring, screening, risk assessment, companion diagnostics). The team will present case examples to further demonstrate why cancer genetic test assessment requires a nuanced approach.

Learning objectives

At the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:

• Identify the different types of genetic tests used to guide management of patients with cancer
• Understand the need for nuanced approaches to assessing evidence for genetic tests serving different clinical applications
• Discuss how genetic testing evidence contributes to clinical decision-making in oncology

Register to view the recording

Matthew Manso-Share, CGC

Research Analyst - Genetic Counselor, ECRI
Matthew Manso-Share is a genetic counselor and research analyst for Genetic Test Assessment. He joined ECRI in 2018, and serves as a content developer and authors clinical evidence assessments on diverse genetic and genomic topics. Before joining ECRI, Matt worked at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, where he performed all aspects of genetic counseling, developed patient education materials, gave lectures related to hereditary cancer predisposition for professional and lay populations, and participated in traditional and molecular tumor boards.

Savvas C. Pavlides, PhD

Senior Manager, Scientific Quality, Clinical Evidence-Genetic Test Assessment, ECRI
Savvas Pavlides is senior manager, scientific quality for Clinical Evidence Assessment and Genetic Test Assessment. He joined ECRI in 2014 and is part of a large analyst team producing clinical evidence assessments on diverse health technology topics, many of which are driven by the needs of current ECRI members. Savvas’ background includes cell and molecular biology, as well as high throughput proteomics. Prior to ECRI, Savvas was a research scientist at New York University Cancer Center.

Jesse Munn, MBA

Director, Clinical Content/Team Operations, Clinical Evidence-Genetic Test Assessment, ECRI
Jesse Munn is director, clinical content and team operations for Clinical Evidence Assessment and Genetic Test Assessment services. He joined ECRI in 2003 and previously contributed to ECRI’s patient safety and health system risk management solutions. As director, he leads a team of research analysts who deliver expert evidence assessment and education about various health technology topics (drugs, devices, procedures, and care processes).