Molecular Biomarkers & Diagnosis

Heather Amidon

Publications

• Research Article
  Comparison of Molecular Testing Methods for Detecting BRAF V600 Mutations in Melanoma Specimens with Challenging Attributes
  Author(s): John Longshore, Sherene Banawan, Heather Amidon, Heather Todd, Jeffrey Fu, Mari Christensen, Julie Tsai, Grant Hillman, Shannon Walter, Felice Shieh, Edward Lipford, Guili Zhang, Abha Sharma and John F PalmaJohn Longshore, Sherene Banawan, Heather Amidon, Heather Todd, Jeffrey Fu, Mari Christensen, Julie Tsai, Grant Hillman, Shannon Walter, Felice Shieh, Edward Lipford, Guili Zhang, Abha Sharma and John F Palma
  
  Introduction: To ensure the appropriate assignment of vemurafenib to patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, accurate detection of activating BRAF mutations is now a clinical imperative. However, the performance of commercially available test kits on challenging samples is unknown. Methods: 126 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded melanoma samples were selected for challenging attributes, such as small sample size, that might affect test kit performance. The Qiagen BRAF RGQ PCR version 2 (RGQv2) test kit, intended for research use only, and the FDA-approved companion diagnostic cobas 4800 BRAF V600 Mutation Test were compared for their ability to detect the V600E mutation in challenging samples, using a single 5 μm unstained slide. Results: of the 126 specimens, three samples were invalid by the RGQv2 test.. Read More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2155-9929.1000215

  Abstract PDF