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Genetron Health Presents Cancer Clinical Research Data at AACR Virtual Annual Meeting Highlighting the Sensitivity and Specificity of its NGS Technology in Precision OncologyBEIJING, June 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genetron Holdings Limited (“Genetron Health” or the “Company”, Nasdaq: GTH), a leading precision oncology platform company that covers full-cycle cancer care, presented data from 14 clinical research studies at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting II held June 22 to 24. The presented data demonstrated the sensitivity and specificity of Genetron’s industry-leading next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies utilized by cancer hospitals to detect genetic alterations for clinical management. Data presented at the AACR Virtual Annual Meeting were generated in collaboration with more than 10 well-known cancer research institutions and hospitals in China. Genetron’s innovative technologies, including library construction and enrichment, unknown gene fusion detection, and liquid biopsy testing, were featured in 14 clinical studies presented at the AACR meeting. One-Step Seq™ Method for Library Construction and Enrichment Genetron’s One-Step Seq Method is specifically designed for small to medium size panels and simplifies the traditional labor intensive library construction/enrichment experiments to a single mixture of DNA sample to their reagent and one PCR reaction, minimizing hands-on time and risk of contamination and reducing the total time for library construction to 1.5 hours. The operational simplicity of this One-Step Seq Method makes it easier for hospitals to conduct the testing at a lower cost, thus yielding better profitability for hospitals. Poster 743 presented the research team’s development of an all-in-one panel for brain cancer based on the Company’s patented One-Step Seq Method to detect glioma driver gene mutations and 1p/19q co-deletion, requiring less biopsy and highly consistent with current technologies such as qPCR and FISH[1]. Methylation of the MGMT gene promoter is a biomarker for increased sensitivity to alkylating agent-based chemotherapy. Poster 3186 presented how the team combined bisulfite conversion with amplicon sequencing of MGMT gene promoter based on One-Step Seq method to analyze MGMT promoter methylation status, the results of which were 94.4% consistent with the gold standard results[2]. New methodology for the discovery of novel gene fusion Compared to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs), it is technically more challenging to detect gene fusions, in particular, novel unknown fusions. Poster 4149 presented the research team’s development of an RNA-Capseq panel targeting 395 cancer genes to detect gene fusions. Lung cancer cell lines or hematological tumors with known fusion genes and the FFPE samples from 10 patients with unknown types of sarcoma were assessed. Compared with lncRNA-seq, the RNA-Capseq panel could pinpoint fusions with a relatively small amount of data, which makes it more affordable and accessible. Moreover, this method can identify fusions in cases of low tumor purity or poor RNA quality. Compared to FISH and RT-PCR, the RNA-Capseq panel can detect more fusion genes at one time, and also discover novel fusion subtypes[3]. Application of Liquid Biopsy Low-Frequency Mutation Detection Technology in clinical investigations Genetron Health has launched several liquid biopsy-based tests for cancer diagnosis, early detection, and monitoring. Poster 1991 presented a collaborative clinical study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) treatment selection, in which a cohort of 25 patients with Stage I/III gastric adenocarcinoma after surgical treatment were enrolled. The research analyzed the mutation profiles of 50 plasma samples collected from the patients using its 179 cancer-related gene panel. Copy number instability (CNI) scores of ctDNA were calculated to reflect chromosome instability in ctDNA. The results indicated CNI score of pre- neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) ctDNA is a potential biomarker of response and prognosis to NAC in gastric cancer patients before NAC treatment[4]. Leptomeningeal metastases (LM), associated with poor survival, were much more frequently detected in NSCLC patients harboring EGFR mutations. Though EGFR-TKIs therapy significantly increased overall survival, many patients inevitably develop acquired resistance. Poster 723 presented a study enrolling 31 lung adenocarcinoma patients harboring EGFR mutations, who had received at least 6 months of EGFR-TKIs treatment before the diagnosis of LM. The research collected 10 ml of CSF and matched 10 ml peripheral blood. The results suggested that, during EGFR-TKIs treatment, the acquired resistance mutations in the LM for NSCLC patients were independent from those in extracranial lesions[5]. Currently, ureteroscopy is commonly used in pathological tests before surgery. However, in addition to the trauma and infection risks attached to ureteroscopy, the possibility of exudation and adhesion of surrounding tissues significantly increased after the process. Hypertension in the cavity may cause tumor spread, and the use of ureteroscopy and biopsy may cause the recurrence of bladder tumors after surgery. The poster 2293 presented a study where urine from 150 hematuria patients with upper tract urinary disease and 100 healthy people were assessed. The liquid biopsy assay tested demonstrated a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 96% in cancer detection[6]. Meanwhile, poster 2296 presented a study that assessed urine from 109 hematuria patients with upper tract urinary disease, in which the liquid biopsy assay demonstrated a sensitivity of 83.5%, a specificity of 90%, NPV of 67.5%, and PPV of 95.7% of detection of cancers[7]. The urinary assay’s high sensitivity, high specificity, and non-invasiveness make it a potential clinical alternative to ureteroscopy. Reference About Genetron Health Forward-looking Statements Investor Relations Contact: Asia: Media Relations Contact: |