#230 Cancer Pharmacogenetics with Dr. Jamie Fettig
DNA Today: A Genetics Podcast
Understanding Variants of Unknown Significance and Pharmacogenetics in Oncology
The chapter explores the concept of variants of unknown significance in genetics and drugs, as well as the field of pharmacogenetics in oncology. It discusses the role of companion diagnostics, specifically focusing on the HER2 gene and True Gene's expertise in cancer pharmacogenetics. The chapter also highlights the challenges in treating different types of cancers and the importance of personalized medicine and genetic testing for effective drug selection.
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My guest today is Dr. Jamie Fettig, the Founder and CEO of TruGene Diagnostics. We are chatting about a breakthrough in eliminating variants of unknown significance - especially in relation to companion diagnostic tests and pharmacogenetics in oncology.
Dr. Jamie Fettig is the Founder and CEO of TruGene Diagnostics, which is eliminating variants of unknown significance - especially in relation to companion diagnostic tests and pharmacogenetics in oncology. He graduated from Palmer University. Dr. Fettig previously worked in private practice and then transitioned into manufacturing and selling medical equipment. He also worked as a coach and trainer to fellow doctors.
On This Episode We Discuss:
Defining variants of unknown significance (VUS), pharmacogenetics and companion diagnostics
What TruGene Diagnostics does
The GiggaAssay
How knowing if a breast cancer is HER2+ can help inform medications that people should be prescribed
VUS in HER2 Tyrosine Kinase Region
What people should do if they get HER2+ cancer or their doctor wants to do a biopsy thinking it might be HER2+
How cancer survival rates are impacted by utilizing precision medicine approaches with drugs
How TruGene Diagnostics’ test differs from other PGx tests or Precision Meds
How pharmacogenomics can increase the efficacy of clinical trials
Check out Dr. Fettig’s papers:
Heligenics: fulfilling the promise of the functional genome to enable precision medicine (March, 2023)
Data Supporting a saturation mutagenesis assay for Tat-driven transcription with the GigaAssay (September 2022)
GigaAssay – a high-throughput assay system for molecular functions and cell processes (July 2021)
Check out DNA Today Episode 134 that Kira mentioned during this episode; it’s with guest Dr. Kat Arney about cancer evolution. You can also stream other episodes about pharmacogenomics including Episode #108 with Becky Winslow, Episode #174 with Gregory Kellog, and last week’s Episode #229 with Avni Santani!
Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on April 7th, 2023, where we’ll be discussing ChatGPT and AI In Genetics with Daniel Uribe of GenoBank! New episodes are released every Friday. In the meantime, you can binge over 225 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Episodes since 2021 are also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel.
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