Clinical researchers who take a traditional sequential approach to analyze myeloid malignancies, a highly heterogeneous group of disorders, face a major hurdle: a laborious and time-consuming workflow. To simplify and accelerate the genomic profiling process, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that the Ion Torrent Oncomine Myeloid Research Assay will be available in 2020 to run on the newly introduced Ion Torrent Genexus System, the first fully integrated next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform featuring an automated workflow that delivers results economically in a single day with minimal user intervention and tissue sample input.
"For the past two years we have been using Thermo Fisher's NGS technology to analyze myeloid samples, and the Oncomine Myeloid Research Assay provides a comprehensive assessment to identify relevant variants in a single step," said Bekim Sadikovic, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Western University and division head of the Molecular Diagnostics Division in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at London Health Sciences Centre. "Making this assay available on a platform that can deliver results in a single day would provide labs with the answers they need for key mutations such as FLT3-ITDs, TP53, CEBPA, NPM1, KIT, PML-RARA and other biomarkers."
Thermo Fisher introduced the Genexus System in November and will demonstrate the platform at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition (booth #140) being held in Orlando, Fla. from December 7-10.
"The Genexus System holds promise to redefine the genomic profiling paradigm," said Andy Felton, vice president of product management for clinical next-generation sequencing and oncology at Thermo Fisher. "We have heard significant interest from our customers in the potential to run our Oncomine Myeloid Research Assay on the new platform. Delivering on that need will mean that hematology and oncology labs can quickly get the results they need."
Thermo Fisher also announced an expanded portfolio of NGS-based hematology-oncology research assays that make it easier to assess lymphoid malignancies. The new Oncomine BCR IGH-LR Assay provides accurate clonality assessment and somatic hypermutation in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL). The Oncomine BCR IGH-SR Assay measures residual disease (MRD) in lymphoid malignancies with higher sensitivity and lower limit of detection (LOD) than traditional methods.
Thermo Fisher's hematology portfolio includes the Oncomine Childhood Cancer Research Assay. All of Thermo Fisher's hematology and oncology assays are compatible with the Ion GeneStudio S5 System, providing an end-to-end, streamlined NGS workflow for consolidated biomarker testing. The system also includes Thermo Fisher's bioinformatics software to deliver more comprehensive information and easier interpretation of NGS biomarker testing.
