Past, Present and Future Advances in MSI Testing
What you will learn:
- The history and importance of MSI Characterization of tumor tissues
- The differences between popular testing methodologies
- What the future holds for MSI testing
Summary
Why is it imperative to utilize time tested, established and deeply peer-reviewed techniques now and well into the future? In this webinar Dr Jeff Bacher covers the history and current trends of Microsatellite Instability (MSI) characterization of tumor tissue, and offers perspective based upon recent scientific research regarding MSI. MSI characterization of tumor tissue has been routinely performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) resolution for almost two decades with the goal of identifying functional evidence of genomic instability (loss of DNA mismatch repair system) associated with research in hereditary cancers called, Lynch Syndrome. Recently, MSI as a biomarker has been expanded past its classical association with Lynch Syndrome, to also becoming a solid tumor, tissue agnostic marker for patient selection for new class of cancer immunotherapeutics called immune check point inhibitors. Because of the rapid advancement of research around MSI as biomarker, there is often confusion regarding the history and evolution of MSI as biomarker and the differences between different technologies or techniques for identifying MSI status. Dr. Bacher also discusses techniques like immunohistochemistry mismatch repair (MMR by IHC) staining and how they compare to MSI by PCR/CE.
Speaker
Jeff Bacher, PhD
Senior Research Scientist, Promega Corporation
Adjunct Professor, UW-Madison, Dept. of Medicine
Dr. Jeff Bacher is a Senior Scientist at Promega and has been involved in research and development of microsatellite markers and tests for MSI for over 20 years. He was the lead scientist responsible for development of Promega’s first and second generation MSI kits, and more recently has been investigating the utility of using expanded marker panels and new technologies to further improve performance of MSI testing for all types of cancers and liquid biopsies.