Dutch researchers argued in Nature Medicine that whole-genome sequencing (WGS) should move toward routine use in cancer care, either for biomarker-guided therapy selection or for clarifying tumor type. In real-world data from 888 patients treated at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, WGS identified at least one clinically actionable biomarker in 73% of cases. WGS produced clinically relevant findings—including already-targeted biomarkers, pathogenic germline variants, or diagnostic clarification—in 41% of patients. The analysis also compared WGS against commonly used panel strategies, aiming to show how much actionable information may be missed by a piecemeal testing approach. The study reinforces growing momentum for comprehensive genomic testing where panels may undersample actionable biology.
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