Gene Testing Platforms for Diagnosis and Treatment Selection

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Several gene testing platforms are available that can provide valuable information for treating patients with cancer. One such test is the bioT3 platform, which utilizes a collection of testing methods to accurately help determine the type of cancer a patient has, explains F. Anthony Greco, MD. The platform includes polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemical (IHC), and next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays.

Another genomic tests, CancerTYPE ID (CTID), is a reverse transcription PCR-based assay that is used to identify the organ in which the cancer arose, says Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD. CTID assesses the expression of 92 specific genes and compares it to a reference to determine which pattern it most closely approximates. Some literature sources have reported the sensitivity of the test to be in the order of 80% to 90%, notes Ramalingam.

CancerTREATMENT NGS+ combines NGS with selected IHC/FISH tests to identify molecular abnormalities, gene amplifications, and proteins. This test may be used to evaluate the presence of important biomarkers that can help guide therapy, such as EGFR, KRAS, and ALK, states Ramalingam.