New cancer tests that sequence only a patient's tumor and not normal tissue could result in a significant number of false positive results, potentially leading doctors to prescribe treatments that might not work, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. The findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, call into question the accuracy of increasingly popular tests that look for mutations within tumors that drive cancer growth. Many laboratories offer such tests to help doctors select personalized cancer therapies. The tests take advantage of new treatments that target changes in the DNA of tumor cells that are important for their survival.
