August 26, 2026
9/11 Victim Identified Using First-of-its-kind Genetic Genealogy Technique – ABC News
Transcript
Elizabeth McMahon
Coming up: How a new CAP proficiency test keeps you on the leading edge of brain tumor diagnostics. Plus, can patients really understand their lab reports without guidance from a physician? A new survey casts doubts. This is Path News Network Daily Edition from the College of American Pathologists. I'm Elizabeth McMahon. It's Wednesday, August 26th. In just a handful of years, methylation profiling has become a valuable asset in cancer diagnostics. It's commonly used for brain tumor classification, but also precisely identifies sarcomas, lymphomas, and other cancers. Methylation-based tumor classification is one of three new proficiency and external quality assessment programs in genetics and molecular pathology now available for order at the CAP for 2027 delivery. Dr. Leo Ballester is director of the Solid Tumor Section in the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. He says DNA methylation has dramatically improved precision diagnosis.
Dr. Leo Ballester
It can be very powerful in some cases and help us establish a definitive diagnosis in cases in which we wouldn't be able to be very specific with other technologies. The field is also evolving into now we have specific tumor types that are defined by their unique methylation profile. So it it has helped us identify new subtypes of brain tumors that we would have not recognized otherwise. We run that in an array platform, generates this data file that goes into an algorithm. And that's where the variability is, and that's where the proficiency testing is directed at, is at testing all these different algorithms that exist.
Elizabeth McMahon
Find the methylation-based tumor classification program under the Laboratory Quality Solutions page at CAP.org. For the first time, genetic genealogy or DNA testing combined with family tree research has been used to identify a female victim of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Dr. Jason Graham, New York City's chief medical examiner, told ABC News this is a breakthrough in the city's efforts to solve many long-term cold cases, including a small fraction of the nearly 1,100 World Trade Center victims who remain unidentified 25 years after the attacks. Dr. Graham's office has 47 other genetic profiles of victims from the 2001 attack that may yield identification using the new technique. Nearly 70% of patients look at their test results before they hear from their provider. But many don't know what they're looking at. That's the takeaway from a survey this month in JAMA Network Open. The NYU-led survey of nearly 5,000 people found that just 35% said they could interpret their results very well. In 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act required that test results be released to patients as soon as they're available. The survey's authors noted that while the goal of patient access is being met, substantial comprehension gaps remain, warranting attention from physicians and health information technology providers. And finally, in Monday's Path News Network video edition, we met a resident who's firing up passion for pathology among med students. If you're a med student, intrigued by this fast-changing specialty, or already a resident in pathology, CAP 26 in Las Vegas is the place to be. Just take it from this familiar CAP voice.
Dr. Donald Karcher
And those are those are students that we are very happy that they're thinking about pathology as a career. So the networking opportunities are one of the great joys of attending this meeting.
Elizabeth McMahon
That's former CAP President Dr. Donald Karcher, who will join CAP leaders and members for the annual meeting running October 3rd through 6th at the WIN Las Vegas. Don't miss the discounted rates for med students and junior members. That's all for today's Daily Edition. Be sure to check the show notes for more information on today's stories. Got a story you'd like us to cover on the Daily Edition? Write to us at stories at cap.org. We're back at 5 a.m. Eastern for another episode of the Daily Edition. I'm Elizabeth McMahon. Have a great day.