Matthew Kurian: When Precision Saves Lives — Why We Must Talk About This
Matthew Kurian, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“When Precision Saves Lives — Why We Must Talk About This.
The heartbreaking story covered by NBC News reminds us why pharmacogenomic testing should not be optional.
Capecitabine. Irinotecan. Sacituzumab govitecan. These are powerful agents — but in patients with DPYD or UGT1A1 variants, they can cause devastating toxicity. NCCN says consider testing, but that’s not enough. Lives are at stake.
At St. Elizabeth’s Precision Oncology Program, we’ve chosen to lead:
- Routine pharmacogenomic testing for patients receiving fluoropyrimidines, irinotecan, or sacituzumab.
- OneOme cheek swabs — noninvasive and results within 7 days.
- Robust financial support so cost is never a barrier to care.
At ASCO 2025, I sat on several panels where this topic came up — and it was clear: many academic centers still haven’t implemented routine testing.
Yet here we are in community oncology doing it — not because it’s easy, but because it’s right.
This is what innovation in community cancer care looks like.”
More posts featuring Matthew Kurian.
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Challenging the Status Quo in Colorectal Cancer 2024
December 6-8, 2024
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ESMO 2024 Congress
September 13-17, 2024
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ASCO Annual Meeting
May 30 - June 4, 2024
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Yvonne Award 2024
May 31, 2024
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OncoThon 2024, Online
Feb. 15, 2024
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Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
Dec. 14-16, 2023