CIM

ROCHESTER, Minn., and MENLO PARK, Calif. — Mayo Clinic announced an agreement on Tuesday, Oct. 12 that will allow it to offer clinical-grade comprehensive cancer [...]

Mayo Clinic is excited about the national focus on individualized medicine and what the future holds. More than half ($130 million) of the total $215 million budget request, put forth by President Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative, is for a national biobanking initiative that draws on existing collections across the country. Mayo Clinic has among the country’s largest collections through the Mayo Clinic Biobank and the Biorepositories Program. Mayo Clinic and the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine have made a significant commitment to building a scalable biorepository infrastructure, which includes multiple specimen processing laboratories and centralized storage. One of these collections is the Mayo Clinic Biobank, a collection of blood samples and health information donated by Mayo Clinic patients. The Biobank collects samples and health information from patients and other volunteers, regardless of health history. The Biobank was established at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minn., and recruitment began in April 2009. Since then, the Biobank has expanded to Mayo Clinic's campuses in Jacksonville, Fla. and Scottsdale, Ariz., in addition to the Mayo Clinic Health System. The Biobank aims to enroll 50,000 Mayo Clinic patients by 2016 to support a wide array of health-related research studies at Mayo Clinic and other institutions. Steve Thibodeau, David F. and Margaret T. Grohne Director, Biorepositories Program facts about the Mayo Clinic Biobank.

Journalists: Soundbites with Dr. Thibodeau and b-roll of the Mayo Clinic Biobank are available in the downloads.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sam Smith, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6qLBidtW-Y

Individualized medicine, also known as personalized medicine or precision medicine, means tailoring diagnosis and treatment to each patient to optimize care. Patients have experienced this kind of care for 150 years at Mayo Clinic, where teams of specialists have always worked together to find answers. Now, at a time when we can routinely sequence a whole human genome and better understand the function of genes, individualized medicine at Mayo Clinic has been taken to the molecular level. We're using genomics and other sequencing technologies to more effectively and precisely diagnose, treat, predict and eventually prevent disease. And that's what the Center for Individualized Medicine is all about — solving the clinical challenges of today and tomorrow by bringing the latest discoveries from the research laboratory to your doctor's fingertips in the form of new genomics-based tests and treatments. MEDIA CONTACT: Sam Smith, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

ROCHESTER, Minn. ― Recent modifications in recommendations regarding incidental findings (IFs) in genetic testing from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) depart from the college’s 2013 recommendations in favor of an individualized approach. Experts in the Bioethics Program of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine published a review of the updated 2014 recommendations in the journal Proceedings. “The feedback from ACMG members indicated that the 2013 recommendations did not accommodate diverse patient needs,” says Jennifer McCormick, Ph.D., M.P.P., who authored the review. The 2013 recommendations embraced an all-or-nothing philosophy, which advised patients who did not want to be informed of some, or all, IFs to forgo whole exome or whole genome sequencing (WES/WGS), according to the review. In addition, the college originally instructed that laboratories “actively search” and notify patients of pathogenic variants in genes, which raised controversy regarding patient rights. With the 2014 recommendations, patients have more autonomy to customize their WES/WGS results based on their comfort level with knowledge, other than the original reason to seek genetic testing, says Dr. McCormick. "This is an important discussion, and the move toward greater autonomy is good for everyone ― both patients and physicians," says Dr. McCormick. "Medicine in general is moving toward more patient autonomy and shared decision making. Genomics and individualized medicine happen to be the starkest and least well-defined examples of this trend ― we have no best practices yet." Much genomic analysis is meant to aid the patient in making medical decisions, sometimes in the distant future, and there are often far-reaching implications for family members, say Dr. McCormick and her co-authors. These factors combine to make this type of testing very personal, especially regarding incidental findings. For example, patients can decide before testing to filter their results for only one part of their genome. This step is important because it differentiates between single-gene testing and WES/WGS. Where single-gene testing is selective, whole exome/genome sequencing is comprehensive.

Study targets EGFR and FGFR cellular pathways to treat rare disease SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Feb. 13, 2014 — Physicians at Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine and [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwATErIogm0 ROCHESTER, Minn. ― Jan. 21, 2014 ― Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found amplification of HER2, a known driver of some breast cancers, in a type of bladder cancer called micropapillary urothelial carcinoma (MPUC) and have shown that the presence of HER2 amplification is associated with particularly aggressive tumors. These findings suggest that administering trastuzumab to MPUC patients with HER2 amplification could improve outcomes, just as it has for breast cancer. The study is published in this month’s Modern Pathology. Journalists: B-roll of images and sound bites with Dr. Cheville are available in the downloads. As with breast cancer, HER2 amplification in MPUC results in a faster growing form of cancer that spreads quickly and has a higher chance of recurrence. The hope is that combating this amplification with trastuzumab,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNMJe9GcWSA Richard Sharp, Ph.D., has recently joined Mayo Clinic as director of the newly formed Mayo Clinic Biomedical Ethics Program. The team helps researchers, physicians and patients [...]

 

Genomics: Is it Hype or Hope? Ever thought of getting your genome sequenced?

Join TODAY's #abcDrBchat at 1 p.m. ET from #CIMCon2013.

Genomics [...]

Individualizing Medicine 2013: From Promise to Practice, that's the name of a conference at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., this week focusing on how to translate the promise of genomic medicine into ongoing patient care. Genomics is the study of our genetic material, which determines everything from the color of our hair to which diseases we may be at risk of developing. That's why hundreds of physicians, researchers, scientists, medical staff, genetics counselors and others are gathering to see how the science of genomics is helping heal patients today. Richard Weinshilboum, M.D., the director of the Pharmacogenomics Program at Mayo's Center for Individualized Medicine (CIM), says the field is no longer the stuff of science fiction. The conference continues through 12 p.m. Wednesday, Oct 2. Members of the media wishing to cover the event or interview speakers may contact Bob Nellis at Nellis.Robert@mayo.edu. Follow #CIMcon2013 Journalists: b-roll from the conference and additional sound bites are available in the downloads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=art3pczL9H0

Mayo Clinic is establishing a biobank at its Arizona campus, broadening the base of its genomic research efforts by supporting studies in obesity, metabolism and diabetes, all areas of [...]

The conference has concluded. Thank you to all who participated. The sessions will be archived and made available on the News Network Monday Oct. [...]

MEDIA ADVISORY: Genomics in Patient Care Conference at Mayo Clinic Oct. 1-3   The Individualizing Medicine 2012: Transforming Patient Care with Genomics conference, Oct. 1-3, will be webcast [...]