Mayo Clinic launches next-gen sequencing cancer panel test

The Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) has launched a new gene panel cancer test to help tailor chemotherapy to an individual patient based on the unique genomic signature of the patient’s tumor. The test, Solid Tumor Targeted Cancer Gene Panel by Next-Generation Sequencing (CANCP), scans specific regions in 50 genes known to affect tumor growth and response to chemotherapy.

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"Every patient’s cancer is different, and oncology is moving away from treating cancer based on its location in the body in favor of selecting the best medication for the individual patient based on molecular changes in the tumor," says Axel Grothey, M.D., a Mayo Clinic oncologist who orders CANCP on selected tumors. "This test helps providers identify such molecular changes without infusing irrelevant details from genes that we know will not affect our choice of medications."

The test is a hotspot panel, which means it scans specific regions of individual genes—rather than the entire gene—in search of tumor mutations that influence response to chemotherapy. It can test solid tumors and focuses on clinically actionable alterations.

"We worked closely with oncologists, pathologists, and molecular geneticists to develop and implement a next-generation sequencing assay that will have actionable results for providers," says Benjamin Kipp, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic molecular geneticist and CANCP's lead designer. "This test focuses on results that oncologists can use to help find the right drug the first time."

Testing is conducted in the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified Next-Generation Sequencing Lab of the Mayo Clinic Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP). This is the second next-generation sequencing panel test offered by DLMP and Mayo Medical Laboratories. The other is a 17-gene screening test for hereditary colorectal cancers. Both were developed in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine.

The test is now available to Mayo Clinic patients and to providers worldwide through Mayo Medical Laboratories. For more information, please visit http://youtu.be/DG9W9NkL05g.

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