Types of test, clinical questions and examples
| Tests | Clinical question | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Test for disease-susceptibility | What is the risk of developing a disease in the future? | People who have a deleterious mutation in the genes BRCA1 or 2 are at risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer |
| Prognostic test | What is the patient’s prognosis? | The MammaPrint is a genomic test that analyzes gene activity in tumor tissue. It supports the decision for post-surgery treatment |
| Triage | Does the person have the disease? | Individuals who have a family history of heterozygotic hypercholesteremia should adopt healthy lifestyle and habits |
| Complementary diagnostic test – effectiveness | What is the recommended treatment? Will the patient respond well/badly to the given treatment? | Only individuals with breast cancer who have super-expression of HER2 respond to Trastuzumab monoclonal antibody treatment. This represents 15 to 20% of individuals |
| Complementary diagnostic test – safety | Will there be adverse reactions to the medicine? | Carbamazepine is an oral medicine used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder among others. People who carry the HLA-B*1502 marker have a high probability of having bleeding and skin problems |
| Monitoring tests | Should treatment continue, change or stop? Is other treatment necessary? | Warfarin is a member of a group of anticoagulants used in the prevention of thrombosis. The maintenance of the therapy depends on the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotypes |
| Monitoring and response to treatment | How long should the individual take to respond to treatment? | The deadline for treatment of hepatitis C with PEG interferon alpha and ribavirin depends on the viral RNA level |
| Tests | Clinical question | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Test for disease-susceptibility | What is the risk of developing a disease in the future? | People who have a deleterious mutation in the genes BRCA1 or 2 are at risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer |
| Prognostic test | What is the patient’s prognosis? | The MammaPrint is a genomic test that analyzes gene activity in tumor tissue. It supports the decision for post-surgery treatment |
| Triage | Does the person have the disease? | Individuals who have a family history of heterozygotic hypercholesteremia should adopt healthy lifestyle and habits |
| Complementary diagnostic test – effectiveness | What is the recommended treatment? Will the patient respond well/badly to the given treatment? | Only individuals with breast cancer who have super-expression of HER2 respond to Trastuzumab monoclonal antibody treatment. This represents 15 to 20% of individuals |
| Complementary diagnostic test – safety | Will there be adverse reactions to the medicine? | Carbamazepine is an oral medicine used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder among others. People who carry the HLA-B*1502 marker have a high probability of having bleeding and skin problems |
| Monitoring tests | Should treatment continue, change or stop? Is other treatment necessary? | Warfarin is a member of a group of anticoagulants used in the prevention of thrombosis. The maintenance of the therapy depends on the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotypes |
| Monitoring and response to treatment | How long should the individual take to respond to treatment? | The deadline for treatment of hepatitis C with PEG interferon alpha and ribavirin depends on the viral RNA level |