By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterNational Taiwan University’s (NTU) pharmacogenomics laboratory has provided genetic testing to more than one-third of lung cancer patients receiving targeted treatment and generated revenue of nearly NT$400 million (US$13.11 million) over the past eight years, NTU medical biotechnology professor Yu Sung-liang (俞松良) said yesterday. Over the past eight years, the laboratory provided genetic testing to more than one-third of lung cancer patients receiving epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) target therapy in Taiwan, he said. It has produced more than 25,000 genetic testing reports for doctors to administer personalized therapies and disease prediction, Yu said. To address the problem, the laboratory developed non-invasive testing methods, such as using a patient’s serum samples to screen for tumor DNA, Yu said. The laboratory in June stopped providing testing service for people undergoing EGFR therapy, as the health ministry in September included it in the National Health Insurance program, he said.
