Next-Generation Sequencing May Help Identify More Patients With Cancer Who Would Benefit From Immunotherapy, Research Suggests

HealthDay (12/29, Miller) reported that research suggests that more patients with cancer “could benefit from immunotherapy.” Investigators “looked at 1,655 patients with either colon or endometrial cancer who received current lab testing (immunohistochemistry) for” mismatch repair deficiency “as well as next-generation sequencing.” While “current lab tests missed nearly 6% of patients with endometrial cancer and 1% of those with colon cancer who had the deficiency,” the researchers found that “next-generation sequencing detected the deficiency in these cases.” The finding were published in Cell.