More Than One

A new diagnostic test called SNaPshot could allow oncologists test their patients for a wide range of mutations in more than one gene at the same time, reports the Guardian's Nic Fleming. This could lead to more personalized treatments as doctors could tailor combination treatments to target all or most of the mutations at once, instead of once at a time, Fleming says. "SNaPshot has been used to identify mutations at more than 50 sites in 14 key genes in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, and is now being offered to patients with a range of other cancers," he adds. "This is thought to be the first time such a wide-ranging test has been used clinically." The test's developers, who published their study recently in Annals of Oncology, used a multiplex PCR approach to develop the diagnostic.