Tumor Profiling Assay to Improve Cancer Care

A tumor-profiling assay will be based on targeted panel enrichment and next generation sequencing (NGS). It will improve cancer care by providing specific information about individual patients, thereby facilitating personalized treatment strategies.

The assay will detect mutations at informative loci, forming part of an integrated workflow that translates test results into clear clinical decisions. Such a solution would ultimately be provided either as a testing service or by an analysis kit that could be used in-house by existing clinical laboratories.

Oxford Gene Technology (OGT; Oxford, United kingdom), a provider of clinical genetics and diagnostic solutions, has received a funding award of US$1.86 million from the UK government-backed Technology Strategy Board (Swindon, United Kingdom) to develop the tumor profiling assay. OGT has considerable experience in providing solutions to the clinical research market and already offers sequencing and microarray services and products as part of its Genefficiency and CytoSure offerings

For the new project, OGT will utilize its expertise in the design of high-throughput genomic services to develop a flexible tumor-profiling assay that reduces sample processing costs and turnaround times. In addition, OGT will use its experience in data interpretation to adapt its CytoSure Interpret software to analyze the results provided by the new assays, making it simple to generate informative, easy-to-understand reports.

The new assay will minimize the use of untargeted, aggressive primary treatments, which are often unnecessary and ineffective, while simultaneously improving the patient experience and increasing survival rates.

James Clough, OGT's vice president of clinical and genomic solutions, commented, "The new cancer profiling assay will complement OGT's other microarray and sequencing solutions, further expanding the analytical options we provide. Such a service facility is novel in the UK and will benefit the patient, clinician, and healthcare funder in terms of quality of care and cost-effectiveness."

Related Links:
Oxford Gene Technology
Technology Strategy Board