Precision Diagnostics

Urinary cell-free DNA analysis had near-100% accuracy for detecting BRAF mutations associated with histiocytic disease, according to a small clinical study reported at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Eli L. Diamond, MD, neurologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses an analysis that looked at urine and plasma cell-free DNA BRAFV600E testing compared with tissue biopsy mutation testing.

Filip Janku, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the importance of having a urine test to detect for cancer mutations.

Mutational analysis is emerging as a powerful tool in oncology; from the identification and validation of a tumor-specific genetic lesion, to the development of therapeutic agents, to the subsequent, longitudinal assessment of acquired mutations.