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Disparities According to Genetic Ancestry in the Use of Precision Oncology Assays

This content was current as of the date it was released. In science and medicine, information is constantly changing and may become out-of-date as new data emerge.

While not specifically about chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL / SLL), these results offer some encouraging news regarding cancer care for adults with predominantly African ancestry in terms of their use of genomic testing to help inform their cancer treatments.

CLL / SLL is not the only cancer where Test Before Treat™ is critical to optimal outcomes. Companion diagnostic, it is sometimes called, can be critical in discovering the vulnerabilities of a particular cancer so one can choose the best targeted therapy.

Over the past nine years, the number of African Americans who had next-generation genomic sequencing (NGS) increased “by half a percentage point each year, reaching 12.4% by September 2022, a percentage that is similar to the 11.6% of adults 55 to 74 years of age who identified as Black or African American in 2021 U.S. Census data”. This means the percent tested reflected the same percent in the total population.

This is real progress. Hopefully, we will see similar numbers for all CLL / SLL community members.

We invite you to read The New England Journal of Medicine article, Disparities According to Genetic Ancestry in the Use of Precision Oncology Assays.