Detection of genomic rearrangements like ALK fusions are of great interest in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as those alterations can be targeted by an increasing number of drugs. To overcome tissue limitations, detection of these alterations from liquid biopsies is an unmet need, despite the development of novel NGS-based tests. To allow the detection of ALK rearrangements from circulating-free RNA (cfRNA) from NSCLC patients, we have evaluated a novel RT-PCR based assay and compared the results to tissue-based testing using immunohistochemistry (IHC) or fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH).The prototype cobas ALK/RET/ROS1 Fusion Panel assay was able to detect ALK fusion transcripts in the plasma of NSCLC patients at baseline as well as at disease progression. Limited sensitivity could be explained by biological factors influencing nucleic acid shedding by tumours, as well as the presence of fusions not covered by the assay. However, the assay demonstrated high specificity. T..... READ ARTICLE
Cancer Research DOI:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2020-5299
Authors: Simon Heeke, Marius Ilié, Maryline Allegra, Audrey Vallée, Carole Salacroup, Virginie Tanga, Véronique Hofman, Jaya Rajamani, Michael Lee, Ellen Ordinario, Marc G. Denis and Paul Hofman