Answers from the Lab

Div Dubey, M.B.B.S., explains Mayo Clinic Laboratories' new testing approach for Kelch-11 antibodies, which are a protein biomarker for testicular cancer-associated paraneoplastic encephalitis. The pioneering test, which is the world’s first, screens patients for Kelch-11 proteins through a mechanized cell-based assay that utilizes cutting-edge, slide-scanner technology, and then employs tissue immunofluorescence to confirm presence of the protein. Early detection and treatment increase patient response to therapy and can sometimes enable a return to normal function.

Show Notes

(00:32)
Dr. Dubey, could you just tell the audience a little bit about yourself and your background?

(01:56)
 No one knows (better) what tests are necessary for these auto-immune patients than our lab directors who are doing really both things, seeing patients and working in the lab, so I think that's a really unique thing we want to highlight, right?
 
(03:11)
 Can you maybe describe a little bit about that process? Because I think it will help our audience understand what that really means. The integration between the clinic, the research lab and the clinical lab.
 
(05:54)
 Dr. Dubey, can you just elaborate a little bit more on our methodology and the assay that will be used for this important test?
 
(06:55)
 And it sounds like this test is just another example of that, where it's something that not everyone can do, but because of our expertise that we're able to provide a test that is as accurate and yet handles the high throughput that Mayo clinic receives?
 
(07:57)
Is unique in that Mayo clinic will be the first ones offering this commercially, right?
 
(08:25)
So can you help physicians understand which kind of patients would be the right candidates for this type of thing?
 
(09:50)
Do you have any recommendations for other testing that should be done for these patients to rule in or out a specific disease?
 
(11:14)
Is there any reason that there'd be genetic tests or any other laboratory tests ordered before kelch 11, or are we really just looking for those males with rapid onset attacks, SIA, those, uh, presentation symptoms you described earlier?
 
(13:12)
We don't want to delay very long before we order this Kelch-11 antibody tests or any of the other antibodies, right?
 
(14:49)
Will it eventually be added into the movement disorder and the encephalopathy and maybe the other phenotypes specifically?

(15:27)
For the time being physicians will have to order it in addition to the panels, but then eventually it will be included in our comprehensive evaluation?
 
(15:37)
When those results come back positive, how is this going to impact patient care, prognosis, and treatment plans for the patient?
 
(17:14)
Are you saying Dr. Dubey, that this is probably going to be as prevalent as some of those Hu, Ri, and Yo antibodies that physicians have known about for you?
 
(17:50)
Dr. Dubey, is there anything else that you want to leave our physicians with that you're most excited about with this test?

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