The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting is recognized globally as one of the most influential and comprehensive clinical oncology conferences. Each year, the conference attracts over 40,000 oncologists and oncology researchers from around the world. The platform enables them to share, debate and collaborate on novel therapies and be at the forefront of cancer research. This year’s theme, “Caring for Every Patient, Learning From Every Patient”, focused on providing all cancer patients, regardless of background, with equal access to the highest quality of care and the opportunity to participate in research.

Geneseeq Technology Inc.,  a leader in precision medicine, attended the ASCO Annual Meeting for the fourth year in a row to share their latest research results. Through successful collaborations, they have made great strides in academic and clinical research which have been recognized by the international scientific community. With over 220,000 clinical samples tested and hundreds of clinical studies, Geneseeq demonstrates innovation and rigor, and continues to set the bar higher for clinical services and translational research.

Geneseeq Exhibition Booth

The latest products and research results were presented at the Geneseeq exhibition booth. Visitors to the booth represented expertise across a broad spectrum of cancer research areas. The Geneseeq team had engaging discussions with their visitors about the current and future outlook of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in providing cancer care. Geneseeq is honoured to be a part of the journey in improving precision care, and to witness rapid medical advancements that better patients’ lives.

Highlights of Geneseeq Clinical Research

Geneseeq presented recent scientific findings in five poster presentations and eight online publications. The poster sessions are summarized below:

Poster 1 (Abstract #3045): Circulating bacterial DNA as a tool towards noninvasive biomarkers for colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenoma

In collaboration with Dr. Kefeng Ding and Dr. Qian Xiao’s team from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, high-throughput NGS technology was used to characterize microbiota DNA in patients’ plasma samples compared to healthy controls (HC) in order to build a machine-learning model for early detection of adenocarcinoma (ADC) and adenoma (ADM). This study is the first effort to characterize circulating bacteria DNA in patients with ADC and ADM. Our findings revealed significant differences in the relative abundance of several bacterial species between ADC, ADM and HC. A predictive model constructed with selected microbial features accurately distinguished ADC and ADM from HC. Circulating bacteria biomarkers represent potential non-invasive tools for early diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia.

DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.3045 Journal of Clinical Oncology 37, no. 15_suppl (May 20 2019) 3045-3045.

Poster 2 (Abstract #3544): ctDNA as a potential prognostic marker for locally advanced rectal cancer patients with ‘watch and wait’ approach

In collaboration with Dr. Zhen Zhang’s team from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate the potential role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a biomarker to predict treatment outcome and improve risk stratification in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). The study reveals that ctDNA is a biomarker for predicting pathological complete response during neoadjuvant therapy and guiding patient selection for “watch and wait” (W&W) strategy to increase patients’ quality of life.

DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.3544 Journal of Clinical Oncology 37, no. 15_suppl (May 20 2019) 3544-3544.

Poster 3 (Abstract #4092) : SHR-1210 plus GEMOX as a first line treatment in biliary tract cancer: results from a single-arm exploratory study  

In collaboration with Dr. Yongqian Shu’s team from Jiangsu Province Hospital, tumor mutation burden (TMB) was assessed using the Geneseeq Prime panel in a single arm exploratory study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SHR-1210 plus gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GEMOX) as first line treatment in patients (pts) with biliary tract cancer (BTC). The study revealed that high TMB patients had significantly higher response rates and supports that TMB might be an effective predictive factor for response to immunotherapy in biliary tract cancer patients.

DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.4092 Journal of Clinical Oncology 37, no. 15_suppl (May 20 2019) 4092-4092.

Poster 4 (Abstract # 8539): The spatiotemporal evolution of early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

In collaboration with Dr. Rong Yin and Dr. Lin Xu’s team from Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, the investigators used the Geneseeq Prime panel to investigate intratumor heterogeneity (ITH), and evolution of lymph node (LN) metastases in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. ITH correlates with morphological heterogeneity and differentiation grade. The findings highlight high intertumoral heterogeneity but limited intratumor heterogeneity of clinically actionable mutations. The researchers identified NF1 and TP53 as highly selected mutants driving LN metastasis. LN metastases composed of polyclones from a linear phylogenetic branch of primary tumor. Longitudinal and phylogenetic ctDNA analyses indicated early detection of relapse and adjuvant chemotherapy resistance.

DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.8539 Journal of Clinical Oncology 37, no. 15_suppl (May 20 2019) 8539-8539.

Poster 5 (9576): Comprehensive genomic profiling reveals distinct patterns of driver mutations and chromosomal alterations in acral and mucosal melanomas  

In collaboration with Dr. Zhengyun Zou’s team from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, researchers used the Geneseeq Prime panel to perform genomic profiling of genes relevant in primary melanoma in an attempt to reveal molecular mechanisms underlying various melanoma subtypes. The findings show that different subtypes contain unique driver mutations and chromosomal alterations. Specifically, chromosome 7p amplification and RAD51 deletion are associated with poor patient outcomes.

DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.9576 Journal of Clinical Oncology 37, no. 15_suppl (May 20 2019) 9576-9576.