Abstract 2415: Development of a clinical cell-free DNA assay for cancer molecular profiling

Background: Profiling cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for the genomic alterations which drive oncogenesis in patients with cancer promises to provide information important for understanding cancer biology, informing therapy selection when conventional biopsies are unobtainable and monitoring response to therapy. Facile collection of ctDNA samples could enable recurrent molecular profiling of an individual patient9s disease with lower cost, discomfort and risk as compared to conventional biopsies. To assess the clinical validity of profiling cancer genomics in ctDNA, a highly accurate targeted NGS-based assay was developed and ctDNA results were compared to patient-matched FFPE tumor biopsies characterized by comprehensive genomic profiling using the FoundationOne assay from over 150 patients with lung, breast and other cancer types. Methods: To ensure robust performance, the ctDNA assay was developed as part of an integrated workflow including primary sample collection, storage and transport, and ctDNA purification, followed by optimized construction of adaptor-ligated sequencing libraries and enrichment by solution hybridization and then sequencing to high depth (Illumina HiSeq). Computational methodologies were developed to enable sensitive and specific detection of base substitutions, indels, genomic rearrangements and high-level amplificagtions from ctDNA. Accuracy and reproducibility was assessed using cell-line mixtures designed to simulate the limited DNA inputs and low tumor purity expected in routine clinical samples. Results: The ctDNA assay enabled accurate detection of most genomic alterations in cell-line mixtures. Short variants (base substitutions and indels) and genomic rearrangements in ALK and RET were detected with high sensitivity and specificity at Conclusions: Accurate profiling of ctDNA can enable detection of biologically and clinically relevant genomic alterations in clinical plasma samples. These results demonstrate the potential utility of ctDNA molecular profiling for the management of patients with cancer, but prior to integration into routine practice, extensive rigorous tumor-type specific studies of patient-matched ctDNA and solid biopsy specimens are required. Citation Format: Travis Clark, Mark Kennedy, Geneva Young, Lauren Young, Jie He, Roman Yelensky, Siraj Ali, Geoff Otto, Doron Lipson, Vince Miller, Phil Stephens. Development of a clinical cell-free DNA assay for cancer molecular profiling. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2415. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2415