Nuclease used to detect mutations associated with response to therapy in lung cancer; high-sensitivity scanning for epidermal growth factor
Transgenomic has announced the publication of a study demonstrating the combined use of its Wave HS System and Surveyor Nuclease to enable detection of mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The presence of EGFR mutations has previously been shown to correlate with response to targeted therapeutics that inhibit EGFR.
Importantly, Transgenomic's technology provided superior sensitivity compared to direct DNA sequencing, the most common approach currently employed to detect these mutations.
Dr Pasi Janne and colleagues in the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology in collaboration with the Translational Research Laboratory of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, described this work in an article entitled "A Rapid and Sensitive Enzymatic Method for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation Screening", which was published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research on February 1.
Dr Janne commented on the significance of this work: "The most common method of detecting EGFR mutations involves direct sequencing of DNA isolated from tumor cells that have been micro dissected from pathology specimens".
"This often requires a relatively large biopsy specimen, effectively excluding a significant number of patient specimens from analysis".
"Our approach enables analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor samples without micro or gross dissection".
"This increases the number of useable specimens, which we believe is critical for the continued development of targeted cancer therapeutics and related molecular diagnostic tests." Collin D'Silva, Transgenomic's CEO, said, "The finding, first made in 2004, that EGFR mutations exist in the majority of patients that respond to therapy with drugs that inhibit EGFR, has been a catalyst for accelerated translational and clinical research in this area".
"The excellent work by Dr Janne and his colleagues provides an example of the capability of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Translational Research Laboratory to utilize new tools and technologies to address important clinically-relevant questions." D'Silva continued, "We are pleased to see our technology deployed successfully in their cutting-edge work, which we believe will ultimately have significant impact on cancer patient care by making molecular diagnostic testing feasible for a broader patient base." Surveyor technology is based on intellectual property licensed exclusively from the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
