Neurotrophic Tropomyosin Receptor Kinase (NTRK) gene fusions

Dr. Marcia Brose, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discusses the role of cancer genomic testing and Neurotrophic Tropomyosin Receptor Kinase (NTRK) gene fusions.  NTRK gene fusions can cause cancer cells to multiply, form tumors, and are more common in certain thyroid and colon cancer subtypes.  Bayer and Neogenomics Inc. launched the Test4TRK™ program to offer genomic cancer testing for NTRK gene fusions at no cost for patients who meet certain criteria. 

Marcia S. Brose MD PhD is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, and Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology. Over the past five years, she has been the Director of the Thyroid Cancer Therapeutics Program and in 2015 she was appointed the head of the Center for Rare Cancers and Personalized Therapy for the Abramson Cancer Center. She received her Medical Degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1995, and her Ph.D. in Genetics in 1994 from the Rockefeller University in New York City. She then moved to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where she completed her specialty training in Internal Medicine, and Hematology and Oncology, and postdoctoral work in cancer genetics. Dr. Brose’s current research interest includes the identification of novel treatments for advanced thyroid cancer, and she runs a clinical research unit and a laboratory aimed at identifying new therapeutic targets for solid tumors through genetic and molecular studies of tumor tissue.