Diagnostic test could pinpoint origins of cancers

SFGate: Diagnostic test could pinpoint origins of cancers:

Pathologists at the Stanford University School of Medicine are trying out a new test from a Sunnyvale company that could give cancer patients a better chance of getting the most effective treatment.

The test, developed by Pathwork Diagnostics Inc., is part of a growing drive to use genetic analysis and molecular markers to guide the choice of therapies in many disease types. Pathwork's test was designed to ferret out a key fact that helps determine which treatment would work best for each patient with advanced cancer.

This is very cool.  Molecular diagnostic tests do offer the best chance of determining the original source of tumor cells - and that [often] determines the best course of treatment.  This isn't the first test of its kind, and as the article notes it isn't the last either; two other companies are working on the same concept.  Regardless the outcome will be better patient care - yay.