Next-Generation Sequencing: The Key to Your Next Therapy?

What is NGS Testing?

The human body has between 20,000 and 25,000 genes, which are the basic units of heredity passed down from parents to a child. Genes are made up of DNA, which carry instructions that determine an organism’s characteristics. DNA is made up of smaller units called nucleotides, which must line up in a specific order, or sequence. Sometimes, when cells divide and make copies of themselves, a change or error known as a mutation can occur in a strand of DNA’s sequence. These changes are often meaningless and have no effect on health. But some gene mutations (which are sometimes called gene variants) can increase the risk for many diseases, including cancer.   

Studying the order of nucleotides in DNA is known as sequencing. Scientists have had sequencing tools since the 1970s, but older methods are relatively slow and expensive. Advances in technology led to the arrival of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the mid-2000s, which has allowed for faster and more accurate scanning of DNA, at lower cost. The availability of NGS has helped researchers identify an ever-growing list of gene mutations that increase the risk for many different forms of malignancy, which are known as cancer biomarkers. 

Who Needs NGS Testing? 

Any cancer patient can benefit from NGS testing, but knowing whether you have specific cancer biomarkers becomes especially important for people whose disease does not respond to standard treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. That’s because pharmaceutical makers have developed medications called targeted therapies, which have revolutionized the treatment of many types of cancer. While traditional chemotherapy kills cancer cells, it also harms many healthy cells, which can cause side effects that may be severe. Targeted therapies are more precise, taking aim only at cancer-promoting biomarkers. Not only are many targeted therapies more effective than older treatments, but they typically cause fewer side effects. Targeted therapies may be administered along with or instead of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.  

Why Should You Consider NGS Testing? 

NGS testing can provide valuable information to your doctor and healthcare team, allowing them to recommend the best treatment plan for you, which may include targeted therapies designed to treat cancers linked to specific biomarkers. What’s more, undergoing NGS testing can help you pursue another treatment option, which is to enroll in a clinical trial of a new oncology therapy. A recent report found that more than half of all cancer clinical trials involved the use of biomarkers.