Elevation Oncology and NeoGenomics, Inc. announced a collaboration to enhance identification of patients with any solid tumor harboring an NRG1 fusion who may be eligible for enrollment in the Phase 2 CRESTONE study. NRG1 gene fusions are oncogenic driver alterations that have recently been identified in over 10 solid tumor types, with an overall estimated incidence of 0.2% in all solid tumors. Though rare, gene fusions are a proven target for precision oncology therapeutics, with over a dozen FDA-approved therapies now available for both hematologic and solid tumors driven by various gene fusions.

As part of its comprehensive oncology test menu, NeoGenomics offers a variety of gene fusion panels that leverage RNA-based NGS to detect translocations and fusions with known and novel fusion partners across all solid tumors, including actionable gene fusions such as in ALK, BRAF, FGFR, NRG1, NTRK, PDGF, RET, and ROS1. In addition to all solid tumor panels, targeted panels are available in tumor types where gene fusions are commonly enriched: Lung NGS Fusion Panel (Complete or Limited); Cholangio/Pancreatic Carcinoma NGS Fusion Panel; Prostate NGS Fusion Panel; Thyroid NGS Fusion Panel; Targeted Solid Tumor NGS Fusion Panel; and Universal Solid Tumor NGS Fusion Panel. RNA-based sequencing is the most sensitive detection method for structural variants that span large intronic regions, such as those leading to NRG1 gene fusions, which may not be detectable by most DNA-based sequencing techniques reliant on short-read methods.

In addition, the use of RNA-based NGS furthers the scientific understanding of gene fusions by enabling full characterization of gene fusion partners and nucleotide-level resolution of fusion junctions.