Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has sequenced the genes of more than 100,000 patients for a database that will be used for precision medicine and predictive analytics.
The health system set out on the project in 2020 with genomics company Helix. The so-called Tapestry research study was completed 18 months ahead of schedule, a Helix spokesperson told Becker's on Oct. 12. Mayo now plans to launch a follow-up study, Tapestry 2.0, in 2024.
"This expansion underscores the interest among people to learn about their own hereditary conditions and to contribute to the advancement of preventive healthcare through genomics," the spokesperson said. "With this extensive repository of data available on-demand, the Mayo Clinic is exploring ways to leverage these insights to affect both short-term and long-term health outcomes, healthcare utilization and physician acceptance."
Study participants received genetic screenings for three hereditary conditions that often go undetected: familial hypercholesterolemia, a predisposition for dangerously high cholesterol; the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations that increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer; and Lynch syndrome, a type of hereditary colorectal cancer.