Discordant Commercial, Next-Gen Tumor Profiling Results May be Clinically Relevant
Next-generation sequencing is increasingly becoming commonplace to match cancer-associated alterations with targeted treatments. But, a new study raises concerns that marked differences in results between two commercially available genetic tests for oncology patients may be "clinically relevant." The research letter, published recently in JAMA Oncology, compared the tissue-based FoundationOne test (F1; Foundation Medicine) with the blood-based Guardant360 (G360; Guardant Health) test. F1 characterizes the exons of 315 cancer-associated genes and introns from 28 genes involved in rearrangements, while G360 sequences 70 genes from cell-free circulating DNA. Previous published studies have shown that both the F1 and G360 tests have high specificities (above 99 percent), but lower sensitivities. The present study compared results from both tests in nine patients seen at a community oncology practice. The level of concordance between the platforms was compared among the two men and seven women (mean age, 61 years). Testing occurred from April 14, 2015 to Jan. 30, 2016. In addition to comparing identified genomic alterations, test results were compared regarding recommended drugs. The researchers found one patient had no identified genetic alterations using either test. Among the remaining eight patients, 45 alterations were identified, but only 10 alterations (22 percent) were concordant between the […]
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