OncoMine Extended Panel
Expanded 161-gene panel with broader coverage, CNVs, and comprehensive fusion detection
What is this test?
The OncoMine Extended Panel provides a broader molecular analysis of your tumor, covering approximately 160 cancer-relevant genes — including both DNA mutations and RNA-based gene fusions. This mid-tier panel goes beyond the most common actionable targets to include emerging biomarkers, resistance mechanisms, and less frequently mutated genes that may be driving your cancer. It's the ideal choice when your oncologist needs more than a basic hotspot screen but wants results faster than the full comprehensive analysis.
Key Benefits
Detects both DNA mutations and RNA-based gene fusions from the same specimen — critical for cancers driven by fusions like ALK, ROS1, RET, and NTRK.
Covers ~160 genes — 3× the Standard panel — capturing emerging targets, resistance mutations, and less common cancer drivers that focused panels miss.
Identifies acquired resistance mutations (e.g., EGFR T790M, ESR1 mutations) that emerge during targeted therapy, guiding next-line treatment selection.
Delivers results in 10 business days — faster than full comprehensive profiling while providing substantially more information than the Standard panel.
How It Works
Your oncologist provides a tumor tissue sample from a fresh biopsy or archived FFPE tissue blocks. Pathology review confirms adequate tumor content.
Both DNA and RNA are extracted from the tumor tissue, enabling detection of both point mutations and gene fusions — providing a more complete molecular picture than DNA-only analysis.
The OncoMine Extended panel sequences ~160 genes for hotspot mutations, SNVs, indels, copy number alterations, and gene fusions using both DNA and RNA libraries on the Ion Torrent platform.
Detected variants are filtered, annotated for clinical significance, and cross-referenced with FDA-approved therapies, NCCN guidelines, emerging evidence, and open clinical trials.
A clinical report details all actionable and potentially actionable findings, therapy associations, resistance mechanisms detected, and clinical trial matches — with AMP/ASCO/CAP evidence tiering.
Who should consider this test?
- Patients with solid tumors where standard first-line therapies have failed or are not applicable
- Cancers where gene fusions are suspected (lung, thyroid, sarcomas, cholangiocarcinoma)
- Oncologists seeking broader coverage including emerging and resistance-related biomarkers
- Rare or unusual cancer types where a focused panel may miss relevant targets
- Patients being considered for second- or third-line targeted therapy options
Conditions Screened
Accuracy & Clinical Evidence
Achieves >99% sensitivity for known hotspot mutations and >95% sensitivity for gene fusions across all targeted regions, validated on FFPE tissue with as little as 10 ng of DNA and 10 ng of RNA input.
Extended panel testing is increasingly recommended by NCCN for advanced solid tumors, particularly in lung cancer (where ALK, ROS1, RET, MET, and NTRK testing are all guideline-recommended), sarcomas, and cancers of unknown primary. Studies demonstrate that extended panels identify actionable targets in 15-20% more patients compared to focused hotspot panels.
Scientific Detail
The OncoMine Extended Panel employs multiplex PCR-based amplicon enrichment targeting ~160 genes across both DNA and RNA. DNA analysis covers hotspot mutations, SNVs, indels, and copy number alterations. RNA analysis targets a curated fusion panel covering known oncogenic fusions with both partner-specific and partner-agnostic primer designs. Libraries are prepared using Ion AmpliSeq technology and sequenced on the Ion Torrent GeneStudio S5 system at >2,500x coverage. Bioinformatics uses the Ion Reporter pipeline with Oncomine Knowledgebase Reporter for clinical annotation.
For Healthcare Providers
OncoMine Extended uses amplicon-based targeted enrichment for NGS on the Ion Torrent platform covering ~160 cancer-relevant genes. Both DNA and RNA libraries are prepared from FFPE specimens for detection of SNVs, indels, CNVs, and gene fusions. Minimum input is 10 ng DNA / 10 ng RNA. Fusion detection utilizes a curated RNA panel targeting known driver and partner-agnostic fusion breakpoints. Variant annotation uses OncoKB, CIViC, and ClinVar databases. Reporting follows AMP/ASCO/CAP molecular biomarker tiered classification. Validated for FFPE tissue with minimum tumor content of 20%.
Important Limitations
- While broader than the Standard panel, does not include TMB or MSI assessment — these require the Comprehensive panel.
- Requires both DNA and RNA from the specimen — degraded RNA in older FFPE blocks may reduce fusion detection sensitivity.
- This is a somatic (tumor-only) test and does not assess inherited cancer risk. Germline testing may be recommended separately.
- Not all detected mutations have available targeted therapies — some findings represent emerging or research-level evidence.
- Tumor heterogeneity means a single biopsy may not capture all molecular features of the cancer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Tests
Focused 52-gene hotspot panel targeting the most common actionable oncogene mutations
Targeted somatic mutation profiling for solid tumors
Comprehensive tumor genomic profiling via tissue biopsy — powered by SOPHiA DDM™ analytics
Blood-based tumor genomic profiling via circulating tumor DNA — powered by SOPHiA DDM™ analytics
Test Details
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