 Ovarian Cancer: The importance of testing for genomic instability in addition to BRCA1/2 mutations in aOC

Dr. Vail is the director of the clinical molecular pathology laboratory at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The laboratory has a full suite of molecular diagnostic assays, encompassing viral, genetic and oncology testing. Dr. Vail’s academic focus is on the effective utilization of genomic biomarkers, especially those provided by NGS, in the clinical setting and provider outreach and education.

In this session, Dr. Eric Vail discusses the importance of genomic instability testing in advanced ovarian cancer patients. The session covers the clinical guidelines and recommendations for BRCA1/2 mutation testing and HRD status assessment through comprehensive genomic instability testing in ovarian cancer patients and its role in informing the use of PARPi therapy.

Lab Talk: Germline and somatic BRCA testing in metastatic prostate cancer

The oncologists should consider the following recommendations for BRCA testing in mPC:

BRCA1/2 mutations are associated with poorer prognosis and potentially benefit from PARP inhibitor therapy

A tissue test should be performed to identify BRCA1/2 mutations at the time of diagnosis. When tissue testing is not possible, ctDNA testing should be performed.

Always reflex to germline when positive tissue or positive ctDNA test (if not performed yet)

Access this Lab Talk to deep dive into these topics and learn more about the importance of germline and somatic testing in mPC.

Dr. Ming Zhou is the Pathologist-in-Chief and Chair of the Tufts Medical Center Department of Pathology, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. He graduated 

 from Fudan University Medical School in Shanghai, China. He completed his pathology residency training at the University of Michigan and a fellowship in Urological and Kidney Diseases at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He previously held faculty and administrative positions at Cleveland Clinic, New York University, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Dr. Zhou has devoted his clinical and research effort to diagnostic urological pathology, and the discovery and validation of tumor markers for urological malignancy. He has authored 196 peer-reviewed articles and numerous book chapters and co-authored 5 textbooks on urological and prostate pathology, including the AFIP prostate fascicle, and three of them in the 2nd edition. He frequently lectures at national and international meetings on urological pathology. He was the speaker at the California tumor tissue registry meeting in 2014 and 2022, and the co-course director of the prostate cancer long course at the 2018 USCAP annual meeting. He was a faculty of three USCAP short courses and five IM courses. He is currently a member of the USCAP Board of Directors, and the President of the Genitourinary Pathology Society (GUPS), an international organization for urological pathologists.

Approximately 10% of metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) patients have BRCA1/2 mutations. Testing both germline and somatic BRCA1/2 is key to maximize patient identification.

Our recent Lab Talk with Dr. Ming Zhou, explores the differences between germline and somatic BRCA mutations and their role in mPC. The session covered various assays for assessing biomarkers in mPC. Furthermore, Dr. Zhou delved into different testing strategies for germline and tumor BRCA1/2 to enhance patient identification for targeted therapies.

DXRX Lab Talk: FGFR3 testing in bladder cancer

Furthermore, Dr. Hubank discussed major diagnostic pitfalls that labs should consider when testing for FGFR3 in bladder cancer, including considerations on test selection, sample quality, and interpretation of results. The event also included a Q&A session at the end.

Access this Lab Talk to deep dive into these topics and learn more about FGFR3 diagnostic.

Download the Lab Talk slides

Dr. Michael Hubank has worked in Genomics for over 20 years. Following a PhD at UCL, he worked at the University of Sussex and Yale University before returning to the UCL Institute of Child Health in 2000 to found and run 

. In 2016 he moved into clinical diagnostics at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, to lead a translational laboratory focused on the development and clinical application of genomic assays for cancer diagnostics. Since 2018 he has been Scientific Director at the NHS England North Thames Genomic Laboratory Hub.

He is a joint investigator on several research projects using multiomic profiling for optimising personalised diagnostics and treatments for childhood cancer patients. He has a strong focus on developing and applying genomic assays, and a particular interest in moving circulating biomarkers into standard of care testing.

In our latest Lab Talk, Dr. Michael Hubank delved into FGFR genomic alterations and their role in cancer, specifically focusing on the clinical utility of FGFR3 alterations in bladder cancer patients. FGFR3 alterations which includes genomic alterations and fusions are especially common in bladder cancer, making FGFR3 a key biomarker for targeted treatment. The session covered the importance of FGFR3 diagnostic journey for bladder cancer patients. 

This Lab Talk took place on 16th September 2024.

NRG1 fusions testing

Speaker name: Kurt A. Schalper, M.D./Ph.D. 

Associate Professor of Pathology and Medicine (Medical Oncology), Yale School of Medicine. Director Translational Immuno-oncology Laboratory, Yale Cancer Center

Dr. Schalper trained as cell/molecular biologist and surgical pathologist. His professional experience includes clinical molecular diagnostics and development of cancer biomarkers. His laboratory focuses on understanding the interaction between molecular oncogenic pathways and immune evasion, and deciphering the structural/functional determinants of the tumor microenvironment in solid tumors. Dr. Schalper is also the director of the Translational Immuno-oncology Laboratory at the Yale Cancer Center where he leads the standardized analysis of biomarkers in clinical trials using advanced cell/tissue analysis platforms.

Our latest Lab Talk with Dr. Kurt Schalper explored pathogenic gene fusions as oncogenic drivers and actionable biomarkers in precision oncology, focusing on NRG1 fusions.

This session will explore the FGFR genomic alterations and their role in cancer, with a focus on the clinical utility of FGFR3 in bladder cancer. Furthermore, Dr. Michael Hubank will explore the bladder cancer patient diagnostic journey, and the technical challenges and considerations in FGFR3 and bladder cancer testing, including considerations on biopsy, test selection, sample quality, and interpretation of results. This event will include a Q&A session at the end, where you can ask Dr. Hubank your questions on this topic.

This Lab Talk took place on 26th September 2024.

Our latest Lab Talk discusses the clinical significance of FGFR3 testing in bladder cancer patients and highlights the technical challenges and considerations in bladder cancer testing.

on the HER2 testing landscape and the need for 

 to optimize performance in the diagnostic process to 

ensure eligible patients receive targeted therapies. 

This Lab Talk took place on 5th June 2024.

DXRX Lab Talk: A new perspective on HER2 testing. Evolving the lab practices to match clinical advances

This session analyzes the clinical utility of HER2 testing, technical considerations (both pre-analytical and analytical), scoring reproducibility and includes a Q&A session with Prof. Dr Abeer Shaaban MBBCh, MSc, PhD, FRC Path​.

FAQs

 Prof. Dr Abeer Shaaban MBBCh, MSc, PhD, FRCPath​

Prof. Dr Shaaban is a Consultant Pathologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and Professor of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK.

As the CRUK Birmingham Centre Pathologist, she supported translational and digital pathology & multiplex immunofluorescence studies

She has led a number of research studies and contributed to breast cancer trials as co-investigator, member of a Trial Management Group and as a central pathology reviewer. Her research interest includes profiling tumour microenvironment, tissue microarrays, predictors of response/resistance to therapies and ethnic differences in cancer.

She was member of the NCRI Breast CSG for two terms and acted as chair of the NCRI Breast CSG Translational Subgroup for 5 years. The subgroup produced several landmark publications including guidance on improving the turnaround of HER2 testing, manufacture and reporting of tissue microarrays and handling of neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens.

Prof. Dr Shaaban published over 150 peer reviewed papers and contributed a number of book chapters including in the WHO Blue Book for Breast tumours 2019 and the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting (ICCR)DCIS dataset 2021. She co-edited a textbook of molecular pathology entitled “Molecular pathology for the practising surgical pathologist and cytopathologists”. She lectured on a number of UK and international courses/conferences including San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, BDIAP, ESSO, EBBC, Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland meetings and other. Prof Shaaban organises an annual multidisciplinary breast pathology update course 

http://birminghambreastpathology.org/bbpuc-2021

Prof. Dr Shaaban led the NCRI Cellular and Molecular Pathology initiative (CM-PATH) Workstream 2 (Clinical Trials). She served as member of the International Committee of the Royal College of Pathologists, member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Breast Cancer Now and is Breast Screening Advisor for Public Health England.

This  event  is  sponsored  by  AstraZeneca.  This  content  is  intended  for  healthcare  professionals  only. Z4-62777. Any use and distribution of the information contained in this document must be assessed and approved in accordance with regional/local approval processes to ensure compliance with applicable local laws, regulations, codes and AZ policies.

This content is organized and funded by AstraZeneca. This content is intended for healthcare professionals only. Z4-62777. DOP: June 2024. 

Insights

Ovarian Cancer: The importance of testing for genomic instability in addition to BRCA1/2 mutations in aOC

Germline and somatic BRCA testing in metastatic prostate cancer

FGFR3 testing in bladder cancer: Recording now available

DXRX Lab Talk: NRG1 fusions testing

FGFR3 testing in bladder cancer

A new perspective on HER2 testing – Evolving the lab practices to match clinical advances

Ovarian Cancer: The importance of testing for genomic instability in addition to BRCA1/2 mutations in aOC

Germline and somatic BRCA testing in metastatic prostate cancer

FGFR3 testing in bladder cancer: Recording now available

DXRX Lab Talk: NRG1 fusions testing

FGFR3 testing in bladder cancer

A new perspective on HER2 testing – Evolving the lab practices to match clinical advances​

A new perspective on HER2 testing – Evolving the lab practices to match clinical advances