Mayo Clinic's approach
Mayo Clinic's approach to precision medicine for breast cancer is built on:
A multidisciplinary team
The team approach is built into Mayo Clinic's structure. You will have a lead physician who coordinates your care with a team of top doctors and specialists. That team may include:
- Internal medicine breast specialists.
- Medical oncologists.
- Breast radiologists.
- Radiation oncologists.
- Surgeons, including cancer surgeons and plastic surgeons.
- Psychologists.
- Pathologists.
- Laboratory professionals.
- Nurse practitioners.
- Physician assistants.
- Nurses.
- Genetic counselors.
- Bioinformaticians.
- Physical therapists.
- Researchers.
- Pharmacists.
An individualized approach
Your care team works with you to develop an individualized plan that meets your needs. Your team will talk with you about the possibility of genetic testing, which, along with your family medical history, laboratory tests and physical examination, may help your medical team understand how your cancer developed and how you might respond to various treatments.
Mayo Clinic experts routinely incorporate genetic testing to personalize breast cancer treatment. Genetic testing may be helpful for:
- Avoiding ineffective hormone therapy. A blood test can indicate whether you will respond to the breast cancer medicine tamoxifen. Based on your results, your healthcare team may adjust your dose or suggest a different medicine.
- Sequencing the tumor. At Mayo Clinic tumor sequencing is increasingly used to select treatment for people with breast cancer. When the usual treatments aren't working, this type of test can help explain why and indicate a medicine that might work better. Tumor sequencing involves collecting a sample of cancer cells, analyzing the tissue genetically and then basing a recommendation for treatment on the results of that analysis.
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Tracking variants of uncertain significance. Variant of uncertain significance (VUS) is a common result of DNA testing. It means that a change was found in your DNA, but doctors aren't sure what it means for your health. This can be a confusing result because it doesn't give you the answers you're looking for.
Most VUS results are eventually classified as harmful or not harmful, as researchers continue working to understand the human genome. Mayo Clinic researchers are studying ways to determine which VUS results are harmful.
Genomics in everyday care
Because of its rich history of genomic research and its large clinical practice, Mayo Clinic is at the forefront of efforts to integrate precision medicine into clinical care. Mayo Clinic includes pharmacogenomics data in its electronic medical record system.
Familial Cancer Program
Mayo Clinic offers people with breast cancer the opportunity to participate in its Familial Cancer Program, which helps identify people at increased risk of breast cancer related to family history.
In this program, a team of doctors, genetic counselors and nurses evaluates individuals and their families to determine potential cancer risk. The team develops a customized cancer-screening plan for families who have increased risks of developing cancer. Consultations are offered to people who have been diagnosed with cancer and to family members who haven't had cancer.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic is a leader in the emerging field of precision medicine. Breast cancer is among the first areas in which the clinic is making this approach available to patients.
Innovation and research
Mayo Clinic is making new options available to people with an increased risk of breast cancer and those who have received a diagnosis of breast cancer. These advances are built on the clinic's rich history in advancing the science of using genomics to better predict, diagnose and treat disease. Mayo Clinic doctors and researchers have made several achievements in this area, including:
- Identifying new DNA sequences associated with breast cancer, which is key to finding drugs that target cancer cells.
- Refining a panel of genes that likely play a role in the development of breast cancer, which may help doctors more accurately identify members of families who are at increased risk of breast cancer.
- Doing advanced clinical trials of endoxifen, a medicine developed by Mayo Clinic researchers to help people who don't respond to standard hormonal therapies, including aromatase inhibitors, fulvestrant and tamoxifen.
Nationally recognized expertise
Mayo Clinic was chosen to serve as the nation's national Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program Biobank. This biobank stores biological samples from participants in the All of Us Research Program. Mayo Clinic receives funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to support this initiative. The biobank will be a major force in advancing precision medicine and improving healthcare.
Mayo Clinic's precision medicine researchers regularly join Nobel Prize winners and other worldwide leaders as featured speakers at the International Society for Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS) Conference. This conference is considered one of the most important events of the year in precision medicine.
Mayo Clinic has other leadership roles in leading research organizations studying precision medicine. These include:
- Pharmacogenomics Research Network
- Personalized Medicine Coalition
- Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network
- Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology
Center for Individualized Medicine
The Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine explores and advances personalizing patient care through the application of genomic science.
The center hosts an annual genomics conference where international researchers and experts in the rapidly changing field of precision medicine share their discoveries.
Comprehensive cancer center
Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a U.S. National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is ranked as the top hospital in Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, is ranked as the top hospital in Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, is ranked the top hospital in Florida.
Learn more about Mayo Clinic's precision medicine and cancer center expertise and rankings.