Genomics and Molecular Diagnostics Technology and Treatment Center
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Overview
Understanding the molecular landscape of cancer has facilitated the development of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers for clinical oncology. Recent developments in the field of targeted therapies for cancer have added to the huge demand for accurate, faster, and large-scale DNA sequencing technologies.
Developments in next-generation DNA sequencing technologies have reduced turn-around time and sequencing costs remarkably. This has unlocked opportunities to characterize the genomic and transcriptomic landscapes of cancer for translational research.
The following are the key benefits of employing molecular diagnostics in the field of cancer care:
Cancer Genomics and Precision Diagnostics at AIROC
AIROC Hospitals offers a one-stop solution for cancer diagnostics, genomics (next-generation sequencing-based diagnostics), biomarker and translational research, laboratory services, and clinical research services.
The Department of Molecular and Clinical Genomics at AIROC is a state-of-the-art genomics center offering comprehensive diagnostics based on next-generation sequencing to patients of all geographies, to improve therapy selection, predict response and prognosis, screen for hereditary cancers, and predict predisposition and risk.
We study the genomic profiling data of tumour samples and provide robust analysis and biological interpretation of the data using advanced analytics and interpretation platforms. Along with the constant addition of new technologies like liquid biopsy, genomics, and translational research, AIROC is geared up to be one of the most advanced labs globally.
The Main Objective of This Department Is To:
Adopt and contribute to an emerging medical discipline called “Genomic Medicine”.
Implement genetic testing as the standard of care for treating cancer at an affordable cost for all patients through the use of genomic data from patients for better diagnosis, effective therapeutic decisions, and overall improved health outcomes.
Help patients achieve longer and better lives and improve outcomes.
An in-depth understanding of the genetic profile of cancer cells will enable us to adopt innovative diagnostic and treatment protocols, contribute to an emerging medical discipline called “Genomic Medicine”, and develop novel therapeutic drugs and technologies to offer individualized treatment for each cancer case, as every patient is different. The robust database generated from this project will help us find new genetic alterations in cancer cells and correlate these alterations to the therapeutic response. This approach will eventually help the clinicians stratify the patients into responders and non-responders effectively and offer them the “right treatment at the first time.”
With a high disease burden, a large patient base at the hospital, seamless availability of a well-annotated tissue biorepository, fully maintained clinical data, and the strong clinical excellence of the oncologists and scientists at “The Center of Cancer Genomics”, we are best placed to study the genomic profiling data of tumour samples and provide robust analysis and biological interpretation of the large data using an analytics and interpretation platform. By doing this, AIROC takes leadership in cancer genetics and develops a “Genomic Bank” with complete clinical and genomic data.
Genomic Profiling at AIROC
AIROC has profiled over 2000+ patients with a variety of malignancies using targeted deep sequencing for hotspot mutations in 56 cancer-related genes, a mid-size panel of 152 genes, and a bigger gene panel of 500 genes.
Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) using the TSO 500 gene panel includes SNVs, CNVs, translocations, fusions, microsatellite instability, and Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB).
AIROC has also profiled patients associated with the risk of hereditary cancers using both amplicon and enrichment-based technologies via the Miseq and Nextseq platforms. Somatic mutations identified in the tumor were assessed for “actionability,” i.e., impact on prognosis and response to therapy.
The genetic profiles of these patients were linked to clinicopathological parameters. In 45% of patients, actionable mutations were identified and reported to the treating clinicians to assist in treating the patients. About 45% of patients had mutations that were of prognostic and predictive relevance. The results of this pilot study have resulted in more than 10 academic presentations and publications all over the world. Our data from this pilot study suggest that targeted deep sequencing using a multi-gene panel approach can yield useful therapeutic and prognostic insights in a wide range of tumor types.
Liquid Biopsy Research
Liquid biopsy is a new technique that has emerged and has great applicability in the field of personalized cancer treatment. Presently, there is a lack of clinically approved, specific circulating biomarkers in blood and plasma. Few markers like CA-125, CA-15-3, CEA, PSA, etc. do exist, but they are limited to some cancers only, and they only work well in cases of metastatic cancers when the tumor burden is high. These same markers are also expressed in normal individuals in lower amounts and, hence, are not very cancer-specific. We also know that cancer is a genetic disease, and the genetics of the tumor can give an in-depth knowledge of tumor biology.
Genetic sequencing and testing are not the latest technologies. However, limitations like the heterogeneity of the solid tumors, the unavailability of the sample post-surgery, and the inability to biopsy an inaccessible tumor exist. Also, since tumors continuously evolve and change in response to therapy, periodic monitoring is a challenge. Hence, liquid biopsies have emerged as an important way to overcome these challenges, where circulating tumor cells (CTC) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are isolated and examined, and the results from these analyses help doctors make informed clinical decisions.