Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

CancerIQ, GeneMatters Integrate Technology to Widen Access to Genetic Counselors

NEW YORK – Risk assessment and clinical decision support company CancerIQ and telehealth genetic counseling service GeneMatters have integrated their technologies to give care providers easier access to counselors for patients at high risk for cancer.

Under the newly announced partnership, after the CancerIQ platform identifies high-risk patients, providers can, through the same platform, schedule telehealth visits with GeneMatters counselors, the companies said. Following each remote counseling session, GeneMatters sends back a summary report through the CancerIQ portal. 

"It is clear there are not enough specialists to provide this service to those who need it. With GeneMatters' platform integrated with the CancerIQ platform, we are delivering an end-to-end solution that makes it easy for any health system anywhere to incorporate genetics into their cancer prevention or population health strategy," Cancer IQ CEO Feyi Olopade Ayodele said in a statement. 

"Through this collaboration, healthcare partners will be able to seamlessly use the technology and services of both organizations to better serve their patients. This partnership supports our mission to improve access to genetic counseling," added GeneMatters Cofounder and CEO Jill Davies. 

Chicago-based CancerIQ and Minneapolis-based GeneMatters said that UnityPoint Health of Des Moines, Iowa, has signed on as an early user of the integrated service.

"Rather than refer these patients elsewhere for genetic counseling — which studies show can be a significant barrier to care — we wanted to bring personalized genetic counseling services to them and create a seamless patient experience," explained Alison Beardsley, director of oncology services at UnityPoint Health-Trinity, a four-hospital affiliate of UnityPoint serving the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois. 

GeneMatters already partners with chatbot vendor Clear Genetics to help genetic counselors triage cases.

The Scan

International Team Proposes Checklist for Returning Genomic Research Results

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics present a checklist to guide the return of genomic research results to study participants.

Study Presents New Insights Into How Cancer Cells Overcome Telomere Shortening

Researchers report in Nucleic Acids Research that ATRX-deficient cancer cells have increased activity of the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway.

Researchers Link Telomere Length With Alzheimer's Disease

Within UK Biobank participants, longer leukocyte telomere length is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, according to a new study in PLOS One.

Nucleotide Base Detected on Near-Earth Asteroid

Among other intriguing compounds, researchers find the nucleotide uracil, a component of RNA sequences, in samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, as they report in Nature Communications.