Larger Gene Panel Discovers Better Treatment Targets For Leukemia

Gene panel that can scan the number of cancer-causing genes about 10 times than the panels currently used for diagnosing and fine-tuning the treatment for a variety of cancers, is said to offer effective identification of problematic genes in the most common form of leukemia, as per a study at The Georgia Esoteric and Molecular Laboratory, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, published in the journal PLOS ONE. All the genes that are potentially known to cause cancer are included in this 523-gene panel, developed by San Diego-based biotech company Illumina. It can readily be adopted for use in clinical laboratories to diagnose acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Leukemia is a blood cancer caused by a rise in the number of white blood cells in your body. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of leukemia primarily having its origin in the white blood cell forming tissues of our body – bone marrow (soft inner parts of bones) and the lymphatic system.

AML can also form in other blood-forming cells. Most patients with AML relapse within three years of diagnosis, and broader identification of treatment targets improvement of those percentages.

Gene Panel in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

"Having a bigger panel gives us more targets. Part of what we found here is this 523-panel works for leukemia and that it's a practical and clinically relevant tool for clinical laboratories for routine molecular profiling of blood cancer," says Dr. Ravindra Kolhe, vice chair for translational research in the Department of Pathology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

Since the gene mutations involved in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are distinct, the disease varies among every patient.

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The present study was the first to validate the 523-gene panel by comparing results to established but less thorough methods, like polymerase chain reaction used to amplify small segments of DNA to look for suspect changes.

Quite long years have been passed with no certifiable progress in AML treatment. Yet, in the earlier year six new drugs, targeting six mutations distinguished by the smaller gene panels, have been implemented. The study team hopes the new board will help grow that new drug number at least 10 times as well.

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Source-Medindia