A new study by researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center found that patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had germline or somatic mutations in DNA repair genes responded better to platinum-based chemotherapy compared to patients without those mutations. The study was published in Clinical Cancer Research. Dr. O’Reilly, senior author on the study, pointed out that “The results underscore the importance of genetic testing in newly diagnosed patients to help refine treatment decisions.”

Another genetic study demonstrated for the first time that not only genetic mutations but pre-existing genetics can promote metastatic cancer spread. The research led by a team from Rockefeller University was published in Nature Medicine.