Using Cancer’s Fingerprint, UR Researchers Clinch a Diagnosis

Rochester scientists are using a gene test to diagnose a difficult-to-detect form of bone marrow cancer an example of how academic medical centers are applying new technology in ways that play to their strengths to achieve better patient care.

The test is a comparative genomic hybridization with single nucleotide polymorphism (CGH-SNP) analysis. UR scientists are uniquely applying CGH-SNPs to suspected cases of myelodysplastic syndrome, which gained attention when Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts was diagnosed with it in 2012.

Gene tests are used broadly to predict the course of disease or to select the best cancer treatment. The University of Rochester School of Medicine Dentistry group, however, has shown there’s a niche role for genomics, in this case using it to differentiate MDS from other conditions.

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