Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), Oxford, UK, has launched its SureSeq CLL + CNV panel—a next-generation sequencing (NGS) offering for research into chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The SureSeq CLL + CNV panel fulfills the desire for NGS detection of copy number variants (CNVs)—including trisomy 12 and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) as well as somatic variants—even at low allele frequency. The panel has been tested to show excellent concordance with array data, and can detect both small and large CNVs at 10% minor allele frequency (MAF), single-nucleotide variants and indels down to 1% MAF, and LOH at 5 to 10 Mb.

The comprehensive panel covers all the most up-to-date, evidence-based genes and genomic aberrations for CLL and will enable laboratories to simplify their workflow by replacing multiple assays with a single panel test.

CLL is the most common type of leukemia in adults and is associated with chromosomal aberrations ranging from somatic variants to small and large CNVs, including trisomies. Such complex genetic heterogeneity combined with a lack of sensitive and reliable NGS solutions has meant that currently scientists need to employ multiple methods to build a genomic profile of CLL samples.

One area in particular where NGS has traditionally struggled is in the detection of CNVs, which can occur in important tumor-suppressor genes, such as TP53. Additional techniques such as microarray, karyotyping, or fluorescence in situ hybridization are often required to detect CNVs and structural abnormalities such as LOH and trisomy 12.

The SureSeq CLL + CNV panel was designed in collaboration with recognized cancer experts. “Having input from experienced cancer labs was instrumental in getting the design of the SureSeq CLL + CNV panel spot on,” says Emma Shipstone, executive vice president of marketing at OGT. “This is CNV detection done well, yielding excellent data quality. This one assay can now replace the multiple assays historically necessary for the genomic profiling of CLL samples.”

For researchers, the single NGS panel simplifies workflow and consolidates the profiling of a wide variety of genomic changes into a single analysis. Reliable data analyses can be carried out with OGT’s popular and easy-to-use Interpret software, a complementary and powerful software solution for accurate identification and visualization of all variants, including CNVs.

For more information, visit Oxford Gene Technology.