Excerpt

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has asked the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) and the Tufts-NEMC EPC to perform a horizon scan of gene-based tests in cancer that are currently in clinical use, are being promoted for clinical use, or are being developed for clinical use. CMS has expressed the need for the deliverable to be a ready reference tool to inform discussions in this area.

Contents

• INTRODUCTION
  • Aim
  • Definition of a Genetic test
  • Clinical applications of genetic tests to be covered by the review
• PART I: Genetic tests currently available for clinical use
  • AIM
  • METHODS
  • RESULTS
  • SUMMARY
• PART II: Genetic tests in development for clinical use
  • AIM
  • METHODS
  • RESULTS
  • Summary
• DISCUSSION
  • Searching the grey literature (for this horizon scan): LexisNexis, CHI vs. others
  • Genetic tests for cancer
• APPENDIX
  • A1 Glossary of acronyms used
  • A2 Synopsis of select commercial diagnostic laboratories (information from company websites)
  • A3 Additional companies and websites
  • A4 Exploratory Medline search strategy: genetic tests for 10 cancers
  • A5 Sample titles from searches of the grey literature databases
• REFERENCES
• Database I Genetic tests currently available
• Database II One page profiles of current genetic tests
• Database III Genetic tests in development
• Tables

Contract No.: 290-02-0022

This report is based on research conducted by the Tufts-New England Medical Center Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, MD (Contract No. 290-02-0022). The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the author(s) who are responsible for its contents; the findings and conclusions do not necessarily represent the views of AHRQ. Therefore, no statement in this article should be construed as an official position of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The information in this report is intended to help health care decision-makers; patients and clinicians, health system leaders, and policymakers, make well-informed decisions and thereby improve the quality of health care services. This report is not intended to be a substitute for the application of clinical judgment. Decisions concerning the provision of clinical care should consider this report in the same way as any medical reference and in conjunction with all other pertinent information, i.e., in the context of available resources and circumstances presented by individual patients.