Mismatch Repair Deficiency in Colorectal Cancers: Is Somatic Genomic Testing the Grab-Bag for All Answers?

Editorial: full.pdf

......It is important to highlight that, currently, there is a significant knowledge and technology gap in most laboratories using MMR IHC and/or MSI testing for the assessment of MMR status versus laboratories using NGS panels across the country and globally. At present, because of the increasing numbers of clinical trials and oncology treatments that rely on companion molecular diagnostics, the implementation of genomic technology may heighten existing global health disparities instead of narrowing them.

  See accompanying (abstract) article:
 Reliable Detection of Mismatch Repair Deficiency in Colorectal Cancers Using Mutational Load in Next-Generation Sequencing Panels

 Conclusion A cutoff for mutational load can be identified via multigene NGS tumor profiling, which provides a highly accurate means of screening for MMR-D in the same assay that is used for tumor genotyping.