Dr. Courtney Kronenthal, Coriell's Director of Communications and Development, joined other esteemed speakers from Aetna, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Geisinger and other organizations in New York City for the 8th Annual Oncology Summit, sponsored by iCore, Inc.

In her presentation titled, "Examining the Utility of Genome-Informed Medicine: What is the Future of Genetic Testing in Oncology?" Dr. Kronenthal described how genomic information is used to shape oncology treatment decisions; for example, the FDA recently approved (August 2011) Zelboraf (vemurafenib), a pharmacogenomically-targeted cancer drug for BRAF-mutated advanced melanoma, together with its companion diagnostic, a biological test that will help direct the use of Zelboraf.

The oncology field of medicine has a long history of using histological examinations of tumor specimens to identify markers associated with prognosis and likely treatment responses; indeed, oncology is an early adopter of personalized medicine. Dr. Kronenthal went on to discuss the role of genomic information in routine clinical care and how the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative is studying its utility.

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