Patient Care Services
Mayo Clinic offers genomic testing to patients to personalize care. Healthcare teams can use knowledge about a patient's DNA to potentially diagnose, predict, treat and prevent disease, allowing medical care to be tailored to each individual person.
The Center for Individualized Medicine doesn't provide care directly. Rather, we partner with Mayo Clinic clinicians and researchers to support genomic medicine throughout the clinic.
Center leaders are working toward a future when genetic testing and personalized treatments are as common as X-rays and antibiotics are today. But for now, Mayo's individualized medicine care is focused in four strategic focus areas:
- Rare and undiagnosed disorders.
- Predictive testing.
- Drug-gene testing.
- Cancer.
If you'd like to learn more about genomics and individualized medicine, start by talking to your primary care doctor. They can help you decide about what makes sense for you. Additionally, educational materials and resources are available from the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Individualized medicine care at Mayo Clinic
Rare and undiagnosed disorders
Some people experience health problems that have no definite diagnosis but appear to have a genetic cause. Oftentimes, these individuals have had genetic testing, but the tests have not provided a final diagnosis.
In these cases, Mayo Clinic scientists and physicians use genomic sequencing to look for variations, which may identify an underlying cause, diagnosis or potential options for therapy.
If you think you or your child may have a rare genetic disease and you are interested in care at Mayo Clinic, the first step is to talk with your healthcare professional about a referral. If you're already a Mayo patient, you might consider an evaluation in the Department of Clinical Genomics.
Predictive testing
Predictive genomics services are offered through Mayo Clinic's Executive Health Program. This type of testing often includes screening people who are generally in good health for genes linked to conditions such as hereditary cancer or cardiovascular disease. Knowing that you have any of these genes can help your healthcare team recommend things you can do that might reduce your risk. Your healthcare team also can monitor you more closely to catch and treat disease earlier, increasing chances of a good outcome.
Ongoing research aims to expand these services to reach larger and more diverse populations.
Drug-gene testing
Some genes are responsible for how your body processes medicines. Testing how certain drugs interact with genes is called pharmacogenomic testing or pharmacogenetic testing. Information from drug-gene testing can help your healthcare team choose the right drug and right dose of specific medicines (PDF). It also can guide more effective treatment or avoid complications. Some of the medicines that Mayo Clinic does drug-gene testing for include:
- Codeine.
- Simvastatin (Zocor).
- Tamoxifen.
- Warfarin (Jantoven).
If you're interested in pharmacogenomics testing, start by talking to your primary care doctor to learn more and decide if it's right for you.
Cancer
Mayo Clinic research has found that as many as 1 in 8 patients with cancer have inherited cancer-related gene mutations — a much higher rate than previously estimated. Genomic sequencing of patients' tumors and whole-exome sequencing of patients' healthy DNA can show changes or alterations in the cancer, which may identify new treatment options.
Genomic sequencing also creates the possibility for patients to share the heritable cause of their cancer with their relatives, allowing family members to pursue care for earlier detection and, if necessary, management or treatment.
Learn more about cancer research in the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center.