Cell free DNA analysis by SiRe® next generation sequencing panel in non small cell lung cancer patients: focus on basal setting.

Background: Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is diagnosed in most cases on small tissue samples, such as cytological preparations and histological biopsies; these limited tissue specimens may be not always sufficient for testing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and other relevant predictive biomarkers. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) can be used as a surrogate for EGFR mutational testing, whenever tissue is unavailable. However, the detection of gene mutations on cfDNA is challenging; in fact, the extremely low concentration of circulating tumor DNA requires the implementation of highly sensitive and validated next generation techniques. Methods: Thus, we have recently validated a novel next generation sequencing (NGS) assay, employing the SiRe® gene panel to detect on cfDNA mutations of EGFR and KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, cKIT and PDGFR genes. In this current study, we report on a series of NSCLC patients, without available tissue for EGFR testing, who prospectively underwent SiRe® NGS analysis. Results: The results confirm the high clinical performance, in terms of success rate and mutation detection, of NGS based analysis of cfDNA. Conclusions: SiRe® NGS panel represent an effective diagnostic tool in cfDNA analysis setting.