Turna Ray
Turna Ray has been covering the personalized medicine and molecular diagnostics industries for GenomeWeb since 2006. She closely tracks the evolving regulatory, reimbursement, and business environment for precision medicine products.

Articles Authored by Turna Ray
Genetic Testing Challenges in Oncology: Patient Insists on Unnecessary Von Hippel-Lindau Testing
A patient with various health concerns insists on VHL genetic testing after a doctor suggests her symptoms seem to fit those caused by the inherited condition.
Genetic Testing Challenges in Oncology: Karyotype, Germline Clues in Somatic Dx Lost in Translation
Somatic testing of patient with hematologic malignancy leads to discovery of critical chromosomal and germline findings that she didn't know about.

Survey Reveals Changing Genetic Testing Patterns, Persistent Disparities in Precision Oncology
Precision Oncology News' 2022 survey showed doctors are increasingly offering molecular testing to earlier-stage patients, but institutions still need to do better to ensure patients have equitable access.

Genetic Testing Challenges in Oncology: Patient With Pending Bill Has BRCA1 Result Withheld
A patient of African-American descent with triple-negative breast cancer cannot get her genetic test results from a surgeon's office because of an outstanding bill.

Could PD-L1/2 Structural Variants be the Next Pan-Cancer Predictive Immunotherapy Biomarker?
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The OSUCCC researchers plan to prospectively study how well patients with PD-L1/2 structural variants do on anti-PD-1 therapy and are seeking pharma partners for that effort.

Absent Resolution on FDA's LDT Oversight in 2022, Some Payors Began Advancing Their Own Requirements
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After the VALID Act didn't pass, it's uncertain how the FDA will proceed, though some payors aren't waiting for the status quo to change and asking labs to submit additional validation data on cancer tests.

The FDA approved 21 precision oncology drugs and several companion tests, but the field continued to be plagued by intractable systemic challenges limiting access.

Breast Cancer Patients Fare Better on Elacestrant With Longer CDK4/6 Inhibitor Treatment
At SABCS, updated analysis from the EMERALD study showed that length of prior CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment impacts SERD response, particularly in patients with ESR1-mutated tumors.
New HER2-Low Category Spurring Efforts to Understand Breast Cancer Biology, Develop Better Tests
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At SABCS, experts in oncology and pathology discussed whether HER2-low tumors are a distinct subtype and how to reduce scoring variability and make tests more quantitative.
Enhertu Shows Activity in Early-Stage HER2-Low Breast Cancer Patients in Study Reported at SABCS
In this preliminary analysis, researchers also explored how HER2 expression changed with Enhertu treatment and discordance between labs in gauging HER2 low expression.