Research shows approach that includes sequencing both normal
genomes and tumor genomes increases accuracy and precision
CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
NantHealth,
Inc., (NASDAQ: NH), a leading next-generation, evidence-based,
personalized healthcare company, and NantOmics,
LLC, the leader in molecular diagnostics and a member of the
NantWorks ecosystem of families, announced today joint results that show
significant improvements in the accuracy of diagnosis when combining
tumor-normal DNA analysis with tumor RNA analysis — as well as the risk
for a higher error rate in tumor-only sequencing.
The research is included in a paper, “Comprehensive genomic
transcriptomic tumor-normal gene panel analysis for enhanced precision
in patients with lung cancer,” published last month in the online
journal Oncotarget.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, CEO and founder of NantHealth and NantOmics,
said the publication showed the significance of combining tumor and
normal DNA sequencing in diagnosis — and highlighted the precision of
NantOmics’ GPS Cancer test.
“Our research shows the potential peril in using tumor-only sequencing
for lung cancer patients,” Soon-Shiong said. “The Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services is only reimbursing for sequencing and analysis of
a 35 gene panel for lung cancer, with the patient’s normal DNA
explicitly excluded. Our research shows there’s a serious risk of
erroneous analysis in a tumor-only approach.”
Oncotarget is a multidisciplinary traditional journal focused on making
scientific results rapidly and widely available so that exceptional
discoveries can be shared quickly.
The published results of the NantOmics and NantHealth study show the
precision derived from GPS
Cancer’s comprehensive approach that combines tumor and normal DNA
sequencing with RNA sequencing. Highlights from the study include:
-
95 percent of genomic variants identified from tumor-only sequencing
originated in the germline, therefore, these variants were single
nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and false positive tumor somatic
variants.
-
After filtering based on population allele frequency to remove SNPs,
the false positive rate remained as high as 48 percent.
-
29 percent of lung cancer patients had a false positive variant call
in at least one of 12 genes with directly targetable drugs.
-
18 percent of true somatic variants identified from tumor and normal
DNA sequencing were not expressed in RNA, showing the importance of
RNA sequencing to verify gene and variant expression.
In a clinical setting, it is important to sequence the tumor and normal
DNA as well as the tumor RNA as treatment decisions based on tumor-only
sequencing may result in ineffective therapies while also increasing the
risk of negative drug-related side effects. GPS Cancer provides a
precise and comprehensive molecular profile, integrating tumor-normal
sequencing of DNA with RNA sequencing. This approach overcomes the
challenges faced by tumor-only DNA sequencing, equipping oncologists
with insights that they can rely on to inform their personalized
treatment strategies.
About NantHealth, Inc.
NantHealth, Inc., a member of the NantWorks ecosystem of companies, is a
next-generation, evidence-based, personalized healthcare company
enabling improved patient outcomes and more effective treatment
decisions for critical illnesses. NantHealth's unique systems-based
approach to personalized healthcare applies novel diagnostics tailored
to the specific molecular profiles of patient tissue and integrates this
molecular data in a clinical setting with large-scale, real-time
biometric signal and phenotypic data to track patient outcomes and
deliver precision medicine. For nearly a decade, NantHealth has
developed an adaptive learning system that integrates our unique
molecular profiling solution, software and hardware. Our system
infrastructure collects, indexes, analyzes and interprets billions of
molecular, clinical, operational and financial data points derived from
novel and traditional sources to continuously improve decision-making
and optimize our clinical pathways and decision algorithms over time.
For more information please visit www.nanthealth.com.
About NantOmics, LLC
NantOmics, a member of the NantWorks ecosystem of companies, delivers
molecular diagnostic capabilities with the intent of providing
actionable intelligence and molecularly driven decision support for
cancer patients and their providers at the point of care. NantOmics is
the first molecular diagnostics company to pioneer an integrated
approach to unearthing the genomic and proteomic variances that initiate
and drive cancer, by analyzing both normal and tumor cells from the same
patient and following identified variances through from DNA to RNA to
protein to drug. NantOmics has a highly scalable cloud-based
infrastructure capable of storing and processing thousands of genomes a
day, computing genomic variances in near real-time, and correlating
proteomic pathway analysis with quantitative multi-plexed protein
expression analysis from the same micro-dissected tumor sample used for
genomic analysis. For more information please visit www.nantomics.com and
follow Dr. Soon-Shiong on Twitter @DrPatSoonShiong.
About GPS Cancer®
GPS Cancer® is a unique, comprehensive test available through
NantHealth. GPS Cancer integrates tumor/normal DNA and RNA sequencing,
with enhanced expression analysis and bioinformatics of complex biologic
pathway systems, providing oncologists with a comprehensive molecular
profile of a patient’s cancer to inform personalized treatment
strategies. GPS Cancer testing is conducted in CLIA-certified and
CAP-accredited laboratories. For more information, visit www.gpscancer.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180507005485/en/
NANT
Jen Hodson
jen@nantworks.com
Source: NantHealth, Inc.