Digital PCR- Changing the Way Scientists Conduct Research

Digital PCR: Changing the Way Scientists Conduct Research

Kaitlin Searfoss:
Hi everyone. Welcome to this podcast from Cambridge Healthtech Institute for the Digital PCR Symposium taking place on August 26, 2016 as part of the Next Generation Dx Summit. I'm Kaitlin Searfoss, conference producer.

We have with us today one of our speakers, Dr. Hatim Husain, who is an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at the University of California, San Diego.

Thanks for joining me today Dr. Husain.

Hatim Husain:
Thank you, Kaitlin.

Kaitlin Searfoss:
All right, let's get started. Your talk at the Digital PCR Symposium is about early response monitoring with circulating tumor DNA in lung cancer. How has Digital PCR changed your research in oncology?

Hatim Husain:
Digital PCR has really kind of revolutionized our ability in oncology to applied precision medicine to cancer patients. In lung cancer we now know that greater than about 60% of the main type of lung cancer has a known driver oncogene. Through genomic approaches identifying the genes that cause cancer has had predicted benefits to many patients here at UCSD and at our cancer center and across the country at many cancer centers. There's been large programs and initiatives built about how to use precision medicine and targeted therapy for patients in whom have main oncogene drivers.

Digital PCR has really allowed and facilitated the ability to look for small genomic equivalents of DNA in samples such as tissue, blood, urine, other body fluids. In doing so has allowed the possibility to detect cancer, survey cancer over time. Qualitatively and quantitatively analyze how the cancer's changing on top of different therapies and through time. We have used this to build novel tools, to look at treatment response. Digital PCR has increased sensitivity compared to traditional PCR; lower costs. It's permitted a larger understanding of variations within samples because we now understand that tumors are heterogeneous, with a lot of complexity with regard to different clonal as well as subclonal populations that make the cells within a cancer very diverse.

Through technology such as Digital PCR, we now have the microscope to evaluate this disease.

Kaitlin Searfoss:
What are the challenges and benefits of integrating Digital PCR into your lab in terms of incorporating it with other technologies and lab practices?

Hatim Husain:
Digital PCR does require a certain amount of training. It's a relatively new technology compared to traditional PCR and requires trained individuals in the technology and in the tools needed. That's one issue, is that that does require education. Subtech conferences can be important to understand the nuances regarding this technology compared to traditional PCR, compared to Next Gen sequencing.

I think at different times there's different needs of certain technologies. Digital PCR may be important for certain applications in surveying cancer because of it's pros and cons. Next Gen sequencing, methanogen difference technology, which has different pros and cons can be used at different times. Really understanding the use of one versus another, I think, is very important. That requires education. I think as we grow in terms of the depth of sequencing as well as the breadth of sequencing, meaning how many genes we believe are important in terms of cancer and on top of therapy, meaning through subsequent lines of therapy, it's going to be important to understand how we can broaden out the technologies to get the benefits of each.

Some of the challenges regarding Digital PCR are that the ability to multiplex to very large gene sets is more facilitated with Next Gen sequencing then Digital PCR, but Digital PCR maybe be more sensitive and specific and it's a lower cost. One has to juggle some of the pros and cons as we figure out how to approach which technology to use at different times.

Kaitlin Searfoss:
What are you most looking forward to seeing at the Digital PCR Symposium and the Next Generation Dx Summit?

Hatim Husain:
I think the symposium has really done a great job in building an agenda that includes some of the technical aspects of the technologies. I think for me, as a lung cancer oncologist, it's my firm belief that the clinical world is going to need to collide with the more technical world, in terms of actually development, to really understand the pros and the cons of a lot of the technologies, how technologies are growing in terms of building upon each other.

I'm actually very interested in hearing some of the clinical applications of cell-free DNA. That is the methodology and technology which is entered in to the clinic. The ability to understand some of the nuances with regard to passive developments and the specific aspects that are being presented, I think are very important.

I'm also very interested in some of the talks on cancer, specific uses of these technologies. I think the program organizers have done a very good job having a balanced program stressing both some of the clinical applications, as well as some of the more technical nuances in terms of actually development, which I think are very important for all to hear.

Kaitlin Searfoss:
Thank you for your time today Dr. Husain.

Hatim Husain:
Thank you Kaitlin.

Kaitlin Searfoss:
That was Dr. Hatim Husain who is an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at the University of California, San Diego. He'll be speaking at the Digital PCR Symposium which is part of the Next Generation Dx Summit taking place this August 26th in D.C. I'm Kaitlin Searfoss. Thank you for listening.