Overview

A 106-gene solid tumor panel moves beyond organ-specific testing to a tumor-agnostic map, which is where combination and trial strategies live. The panel reads DNA and often RNA to surface actionable alterations regardless of where the cancer started. For referral centers, one broad profile can replace several single-gene tests and still leave material for later questions. Broad profiling is increasingly the default when a single-organ workup has been exhausted, because it surfaces options a focused test would miss.

How It Works

Hybrid-capture NGS covers 106 genes with fusion and copy-number calls, plus microsatellite and tumor-mutational-load markers. The report groups findings into therapy, combination, and trial buckets, so a rare alteration still reaches a named option. RNA inclusion improves fusion detection that DNA alone can miss. Variant classification follows a tiered system, and each alteration carries the evidence level behind its therapy suggestion.

Clinical Indications

It fits advanced solid tumors with no standard targeted route, or cases where tissue is sufficient for a broad map. Tumor-agnostic programs use it to match patients to tissue-agnostic approvals and basket trials. It is also useful when a patient has exhausted organ-specific options and the team wants every actionable route considered at once. Centers use the tumor-mutational-load and MSI outputs to qualify patients for immune pathways alongside targeted options, widening the set of regimens a report can suggest.

Specimen & Turnaround

FFPE or ctDNA is accepted; DNA quantity is checked before capture. Results return as a tiered report with combination and trial suggestions where relevant. A summary page leads with the highest-tier findings so a busy tumor board can act before reading the full appendix.

Storage & Logistics

Frozen and liquid specimens need cold chain; FFPE ships ambient with desiccant. Distributors benefit from batched capture runs that steady per-sample cost and keep quality uniform. Centralized bioinformatics means a site anywhere receives the same bucketed report format, which helps multi-center trial matching. A single capture run per site keeps the report format identical across the network, so a patient moving between hospitals carries a result everyone can read the same way.

FAQ

Q: What makes a 106-gene panel tumor-agnostic? A: It reports alterations by actionability, not by organ, enabling tissue-agnostic matches. A rare driver is linked to a therapy regardless of primary site.

Q: Why include RNA in the panel? A: RNA improves fusion calls that DNA sequencing can under-detect, catching rearrangements that would otherwise be missed on a DNA-only run.

Q: How do combination ideas appear in the report? A: Findings are grouped into therapy, combination, and trial buckets for a clear plan. The combination bucket names the agents suggested by the co-alterations seen.