Detection of Actionable Genetic Alterations in Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cancer and accounts for about 29% of all cancer deaths in Hong Kong. A paradigm shift in lung cancer treatment has taken place in many counties in the past few years. Traditional histology defined treatments are being replaced by genetically informed targeted- and immune-therapies. As there are many different genetic alterations even within the same tumor type, a key to the success in target therapy is to identify actionable genetic drivers in a given tumor. This project aims to develop novel methods for detecting actionable genetic alterations in lung tumors in order to match the right patients to the right drugs. The method will distinct from earlier methods by a novel ligation-free and shearing-free sequencing library preparation approach that is simpler yet more efficient at target enrichment, resulting in shorter turnaround time and is more widely applicable to clinical samples including fine needle biopsies and body fluids. Thus, this method will make molecular diagnostics more affordable and accessible in the clinic.