Lab-on-Disk Platform for KRAS Mutation Testing

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. In the United States is currently the third deadliest cancer with more than 1 million patients diagnosed annually of which 50% will develop metastatic disease. In some subtypes of CRC, the KRAS mutation status has emerged as an important diagnostic/prognostic marker for the response to treatment with anti-EGFR drugs in patients with metastatic CRC. Currently, the direct sequencing remains the gold standard technique for the diagnosis of DNA mutations, but the low sensitivity, time-consuming and the need for operating in rooms with dedicated instrumentation makes this method disadvantageous in daily practice. In recent years, new technologies characterized by different sensitivities, specificities and complexities are starting to be used in research and clinical studies for the detection of DNA genotyping. In this work, we propose a novel portable Lab-on-Disk platform developed by STMicroelectronics as a competitive device able to perform TaqMan-based real-time PCR for the rapid and simultaneous detection and identification of KRAS gene mutations.