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for assessing patient response to current treatment for Hepatitis C.

Congratulations to MSAV member microbiologist Dr Volker Gurtler for developing a new gene test at Austin Health, using the results of a breakthrough discovery of a polymorphic gene in Switzerland and the United States. Austin Health gastroenterologist Dr Paul Froomes approached Volker nine months ago with the task of devising a test for the gene, rs12979860.

The significance of Volker’s work is the increase in reliability of treatment for Hepatitis C patients with the polymorphic gene. “It means patients do not need to be tested so frequently, that pathology care for patients is much more simplified, and that the cost of testing is reduced,” said Dr Gurtler.

Dr Froomes and Dr Gurtler found that if a patient had the polymorphism, then their response rate was much better, about 70- 80%, compared to someone who did not have the polymorphism who had a much lower response rate of 20%. Dr Gurtler was given the challenging task of modifying the DNA sequence specific for the mutated gene. Dr Gurtler and his pathology team at Austin Health spent 6 months developing and validating the genetic test for the gene, although as he pointed out “it’s been 20 years coming”.