New NGS Panel Detects AML Fusions at MRD-Level Sensitivity

Genomic testing for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can be limited by incomplete coverage of disease-associated alterations. Fusion events may remain undetected when workflows rely on multiple assays or lack sufficient sensitivity for measurable residual disease (MRD) assessment. To improve detection within a single workflow, a newly launched next-generation sequencing panel expands AML fusion coverage at MRD-level sensitivity.

OGT’s (Oxford, UK) SureSeq myPanel Myeloid Fusion MRD Panel is a custom SureSeq next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel developed with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, NY, USA). Positioned as the first-to-market dedicated fusion MRD NGS panel for AML, it is available for laboratories to purchase and implement within their workflows. Laboratories can use it as a standalone assay for fusion event detection or combine it with the SureSeq Myeloid MRD Plus NGS Panel for broader MRD characterization.

The panel detects AML-associated fusion events and measures MECOM expression at MRD-level sensitivity. Within the end-to-end SureSeq NGS workflow, Interpret NGS analysis software enables laboratories to analyze, track, and visualize variants, including fusion events, across multiple timepoints in one environment. The software offers cloud-based and local installation options, along with integration of third-party tools such as QIAGEN Clinical Insight Interpret. The product is for research use only and is not intended for diagnostic procedures.

Initial testing of clinical research samples at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center demonstrated detection of key disease-associated fusions, including BCR::ABL1 and PML::RARA, in serial dilutions containing as few as 1% tumor cells. When used alongside the SureSeq Myeloid MRD Plus NGS Panel, the new panel supports MRD-level detection of single nucleotide variants, insertions and deletions, internal tandem duplications, and fusion events in AML samples. Together, the panels expand the range of detectable variants without requiring multiple single-analyte assays.

“The addition of RNA fusion detection represents an important opportunity to broaden the reach of molecular MRD assessment to the approximately 20–25% of AML cases associated with fusion-driven disease. By providing molecular markers of residual leukaemia that can be monitored over time, fusion transcripts can support residual disease assessment, including in samples that lack an informative DNA mutation,” said Dr. Sean Glenn, Director of the Advanced Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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