Sequencing aids management of young cancer patients

Cost and turn-around time

The cost for sequencing was approximately $6000 per patient and was covered under the research protocol.

It took the researchers about 7 to 8 weeks to report the sequencing results back to treating physicians and families.

“These are early days, and the full promise of precision medicine is yet to be fully realized,” Dr Mody said. “We need better targeted therapies designed for children, and turnaround time for sequencing needs to be less than 2 weeks for it to be a regular part of a patient’s treatment plan.”