Blood-based detection of EGFR and KRAS mutations for NSCLC patients using multiplexed droplet digital PCR

Mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) and the known Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene  (KRAS) are significant drivers in the development of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Treatment is typically guided by which mutations are present, and there are several possible mutations that can arise during treatment, so detecting them quickly and reliably is key to helping the patient. With NSCLC, biopsied patient samples tend to be very small, which can hamper many conventional genetic tests. Thus the ideal test in NSCLC is one that can work with minimal inputs, and test for several mutations at the same time. This webcast will present a new liquid biopsy test using multiplexing assays that contained mutant variants. The QX ONE Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) System allows for automated operation and advanced multiplexing to detect mutations in EGFR and KRAS using as little as 5 ng of cell-free DNA extracted from plasma.

Learning Objectives:

1. What are the key benefits to having a high-throughput, multiplexing ddPCR system?

2. Are the results the same between standard duplex reactions and multiplexed reactions?

3. What is the greatest number of samples that can be processed to results overnight on the QX200 vs the QX ONE?