|
Clinical
Practice Committee Report
Greetings from sunny California!
At our face-to-face Clinical Practice Committee (CPC)
meeting at the Annual AMP Meeting in Dallas, we said goodbye
to Committee members who rotated off and welcomed six new
members. I would like to especially thank Vicky Pratt,
outgoing Chair, for all her help in getting me up to speed,
and outgoing Committee members Aaron Bossler and
Julie Gastier-Foster for their service.
It has been a busy Fall so far. The Clinical Practice
Committee continued existing projects and started new ones.
Outgoing Genetics Subdivision Representative Julie
Gastier-Foster has compiled a resource of numerous
database websites for inherited genetic conditions, which
has now become available on the AMP website. The Clinical
Practice Committee will continue to collect database
websites and add these to the resource over time.
Hematopathology Subdivision Representatives
Dan Sabath and
Joe Pulliam are working on a myeloid stem cell testing
guideline. This will be a collaborative effort with CLSI
(the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute), which is
working on a technical guidelines document whereas the CPC
will focus on clinical guidelines.
In a project originally started by Jan Nowak, Solid
Tumor Subdivision Representative Bill Funkhouser is
completing the creation of a standard for Microsatellite
Instability (MSI) testing in colon cancer. A manuscript is
almost ready for submission for review. Solid Tumor
Subdivision Representative Federico Monzon is
exploring a project regarding practice guidelines for KRAS
testing.
Ad hoc
member Ira Lubin leads a project on the
reporting of genetic test results using cystic fibrosis
mutation analysis as a model that has generated two
manuscripts. The
first, Ordering molecular genetic tests and reporting
results: practices in laboratory and clinical settings, was
published in the September 2008 issue of The Journal for Molecular Diagnostics
(JMD).
The second manuscript is in press at JMD and will be relevant
to laboratories in the design of their reports for DNA-based
assays for heritable conditions.
Ad hoc member Michelle Dolan is leading a project
regarding the analytical validation of genotyping assays.
Together with ad hoc members
Fernanda Sabato
and Patrik Vitazka, she is
developing a guideline/checklist to help laboratories with
analytical validation. Upon completion of the project, this
resource will be made available on the AMP website.
Infectious Diseases Subdivision Representatives Donna
Wolk and Belinda Yen-Lieberman are continuing two
projects originally started by Aaron Bossler. Donna
is focusing on quantitative reference materials for BK
virus, whereas Belinda will be working on quantitative
reference materials for CMV.
New projects for CPC include the design of a process for AMP
to address clinical utility of molecular assays. This issue
is explored by a subcommittee that includes Genetics
Subdivision Representatives Murali Muralidharan,
and Narasimhan Nagan, and Hematopathology Subdivision
Representative Dan Sabath. With input and approval of
the AMP Council, the CPC has also crafted a letter to the
World Health Organization (WHO) in support of the creation
of reference materials for Fragile X syndrome testing, as
well as, other inherited disorders, oncology,
pharmacogenomics and infectious diseases.
Stay tuned for future updates from the CPC. Anyone
interesting in becoming involved in this Committee as an Ad
Hoc member should contact me.
On behalf of the CPC, I wish you all the very best for an
exciting, productive and successful 2009! |
