Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research Consortium: Accelerating Evidence-Based Practice of Genomic Medicine

Despite rapid technical progress and demonstrable effectiveness for some types of diagnosis and therapy, much remains to be learned about clinical genome and exome sequencing (CGES) and its role within the practice of medicine. The Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) consortium includes 18 extramural research projects, one National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) intramural project, and a coordinating center funded by the NHGRI and National Cancer Institute. The consortium is exploring analytic and clinical validity and utility, as well as the ethical, legal, and social implications of sequencing via multidisciplinary approaches; it has thus far recruited 5,577 participants across a spectrum of symptomatic and healthy children and adults by utilizing both germline and cancer sequencing. The CSER consortium is analyzing data and creating publically available procedures and tools related to participant preferences and consent, variant classification, disclosure and management of primary and secondary findings, health outcomes, and integration with electronic health records. Future research directions will refine measures of clinical utility of CGES in both germline and somatic testing, evaluate the use of CGES for screening in healthy individuals, explore the penetrance of pathogenic variants through extensive phenotyping, reduce discordances in public databases of genes and variants, examine social and ethnic disparities in the provision of genomics services, explore regulatory issues, and estimate the value and downstream costs of sequencing. The CSER consortium has established a shared community of research sites by using diverse approaches to pursue the evidence-based development of best practices in genomic medicine

The Effects of Acculturation on Asthma Burden in a Community Sample of Mexican American Schoolchildren

Objectives. We sought to determine whether low acculturation among Mexican American caregivers protects their children against asthma

PS2-11: Validation of KRAS Mutation Testing Across Five Certified Laboratories

KRAS mutation testing helps oncologists decide whether patients diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) should be treated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors. These drugs block the EGFR signaling pathway in tumor cells, and thus can slow tumor progression. Mutated KRAS is found in 30–45% of all CRC tumors, with mutations occurring at codons 12 and 13 being the most common. Patients with a mutated KRAS found in tumor tissue show limited clinical response to EGFR inhibitor therapy. Several factors can influence the results of KRAS mutation testing in tumor specimens. Variation can result from tumor heterogeneity, sample handling, DNA preparation, and differences in assay design and methodology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate comparability of KRAS test results among five labs currently used to determine KRAS mutation status of colorectal cancer specimens in a large multi-center study

Combining plant resistance and a natural enemy to control Amphorophora idaei

The European large raspberry aphid Amphorophora idaei Börner (Homoptera: Aphididae) is a virus vector of at least four plant virus complexes making it the most important aphid pest of raspberries in Northern Europe. An approach combining a bottom-up control (plant resistance) and a top-down control (an aphid parasitoid) using Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Aphidiinae) was investigated in the laboratory. Aphid performance (pre-reproductive period, total reproductive output, lifespan and r m) were compared when reared on both a susceptible cultivar and a resistant cultivar with significantly poorer performance on the resistant cultivar. Parasitoid attack behaviour increased with aphid density on both cultivars, but was significantly lower on resistant plants than susceptible plants. Aphids showed a greater tendency to drop from the plant when feeding on resistant plants compared with susceptible plants. The significance of the results is discussed in the context of possible control of the aphid using these combined methods