Center for Personalized Diagnostics

What is the Center for Personalized Diagnostics?

The Center for Personalized Diagnostics (CPD) is a joint initiative between Penn Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center. This means our pathologists work hand-in-hand with your oncologist to determine the best course of action for your cancer treatment, based on the genomic test results and your specific needs.

Benefits of having your cancer tested (knowing your genomic alterations) with the CPD, may include:

• It can help identify targeted therapies that may be more effective and have fewer side effects
• May spare some individuals the costs and side effects of certain therapies
• Your results may match with a Clinical Trial

Your oncologist will discuss if these options apply to you.

Only your oncologist can order a CPD test. To have your cancer tested by the CPD usually does not require another procedure. Test results are usually received within seven to 14 days, once ordered. Once tested, your oncologist will share your results with you and review the next steps for your treatment.

Precision Medicine

Precision medicine is an emerging form of disease diagnosis and prevention that uses genetic and other unique personalized information to deliver the right treatment, to the right person, at the right time. Learn more at the Center for Precision Medicine.

Identifying and Sequencing Liquid and Solid Tumors

In February 2013, Penn Medicine launched the Center for Personalized Diagnostics (CPD) with an initial focus on identifying genetic mutations in malignant tumors (cancers) that could potentially respond to targeted therapies. Since that time, the Center for Personalized Diagnostics has expanded the number and type of panels they run, to include tumors affecting blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes; as well as solid tumors, such as lung cancer.

As one of few centers in the country that can sequence and analyze panels (or groups) of potential genetic mutations in both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, we have found disease-associated genetic mutations in 75% of the tests performed. By integrating Molecular Genetics, Informatics, and Genomic Pathology, Precision Medicine will continue to have a major impact in cancer, particularly with the advent of targeted therapies (Precision Therapeutics) based upon specific mutations and altered pathways (e.g., BRAF, ALK).