Cytogenetics

The faculty members in the Cytogenetics specialty are board-certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics and specialize in clinical cytogenetics. They are also active fellows with the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. The Cytogenetics specialty is co-directed by Xinyan Lu, MD, FACMG, and Madina Sukhanova, PhD. The team consists of one lab manager, one operational coordinator, one research coordinator, 11 technologists and one technician.

We offer highly comprehensive ancillary genetics and genomics clinical testing, including but not limited to traditional chromosome studies, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis and genomic microarray analysis for both hematological neoplasms and solid tumors. The Cytogenetics specialty plays an important role in patient care by providing accurate testing results for disease diagnosis, differential diagnosis and treatment evaluation. Our mission is to continually improve the quality of clinical service and, when possible, improve patient care.

Education

In addition to clinical service, the Cytogenetics specialty is heavily involved in training residents and fellows in the Department of Pathology, Hematopathology fellows and students from the Cytogenetic Technology Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center. After the Cytogenetics rotation, residents and fellows will understand the clinical importance of cytogenetic testing, know how to order necessary testing and read the final reports and know how to integrate cytogenetic results with molecular, morphology, flow cytometry or other clinical information.

Research

Our work actively involves Cytogenetics and FISH data review and tests on various clinical trials within the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Faculty members also conduct clinical research projects in collaboration with pathologists, oncologists and research faculty members of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Patient Care

The Cytogenetics specialty works with care providers at hospitals affiliated with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and care sites to provide rapid cytogenetic and FISH testing results. Patients with leukemia and lymphomas undergo relevant FISH tests on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of solid tumors, including breast cancer, brain tumors and lung cancer.