Clinical Application of Targeted Next Generation Sequencing for Colorectal Cancers.

Fontanges Q1, De Mendonca R2, Salmon I3, Le Mercier M4, D'Haene N5.

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Abstract

Promising targeted therapy and personalized medicine are making molecular profiling of tumours a priority. For colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, international guidelines made RAS (KRAS and NRAS) status a prerequisite for the use of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor agents (anti-EGFR). Daily, new data emerge on the theranostic and prognostic role of molecular biomarkers, which is a strong incentive for a validated, sensitive and broadly available molecular screening test in order to implement and improve multi-modal therapy strategy and clinical trials. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has begun to supplant other technologies for genomic profiling. Targeted NGS is a method that allows parallel sequencing of thousands of short DNA sequences in a single test offering a cost-effective approach for detecting multiple genetic alterations with a minimum amount of DNA. In the present review, we collected data concerning the clinical application of NGS technology in the setting of colorectal cancer.