NCI COMPASS-Comprehensive Oncologic Molecular Pathology and Sequencing Service

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The Molecular Diagnostics Section is currently the only CLIA and College of American Pathology approved clinical laboratory within the NCI certified for performing molecular oncology testing on pathology materials from NIH patients. The newly established COMPASS program is to expand next-generation sequencing to support clinical and research in CCR. In FY23 (July 2022 - June 2023), the NGS lab run 1742 TSO500, whole exome sequencing, and RNA exome sequencing tests. These results have provided support of precision pathological diagnosis and precision oncology for 102 clinical protocols from NCI and 15 protocol from NHGRI, NIAID, NIAMS, NIDDK including CCR Rare Tumor, Liver and Prostate Cancer Moonshot projects. We are also screening the targets in patients from CCR intramural clinics for NCI-MATCH. As a part of CCR precision medicine development, in FY23, the program also conducted evaluation, testing, and development of cell-free DNA extraction and cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) NGS assay web-beach process and sequencing. ctDNA NGS is ready to move onto pre-clinical validation phase for FY24. If FY24 budge allows, the ctDNA test could be offered to test real-time patient specimens. The COMPASS program provided the great opportunities of training or continuing education for both pathology and oncology teams especially next generation of pathologists and physician scientists by running weekly NGS technical review conference, weekly molecular pathology/neuro-oncology conference, and weekly molecular pathology/pediatric oncology conference to discuss molecular finding, treatment, and beyond particular patient or mutation.