Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Thermo Fisher Scientific announced the establishment of a collaborative partnership aimed at identifying cancer genetic mutations linked with Asian populations using Thermo Fisher’s Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform.

The research collaboration will take phased approaches to analyse retrospective samples from cancer patients with Asian ancestry to identify the mutational profiles and their differences from existing data of reference populations, which principally contain data from individuals of Caucasian ancestry.

In the first phase of the project, SGH will perform a validation study using the Ion PGM platform and the Oncomine Comprehensive Assay. The project will then move to NGS-based prospective data analysis of multiple cancers by using formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues and, potentially, other types of clinical samples. The objective is to realize the highest levels of data acquisition that will lead to new tests with clinical actionability in the future.

"This collaboration with Singapore General Hospital underscores our sustained commitment to serve our global customers in their respective oncology research and clinical communities,” said Mike Nolan, vice president and general manager of oncology for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

“We will continue on this path of providing the most advanced tools that add great value in the global effort to manage cancer.”

“Investigating the differences in cancer gene mutations among different populations is an essential factor in advancing healthcare in a multiracial and multicultural society,” said Prof. Tan Puay Hoon, head, department of pathology, SGH.

“This partnership will enable the oncology community to take steps toward realizing better and personalized care in the region.”

This research is part of the POLARIS@SingHealth programme funded by A*STAR to enable cutting-edge omics technologies and translate them for disease diagnosis and treatment in Singapore in the future. This will be actualized by establishing the necessary infrastructure and resources, together with its clinical partners.

The project is supported in part by the Central R&D of Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The Ion PGM system and the Oncomine comprehensive assay are for research use only; Not for use in diagnostic procedures.