Photo by William Weinert
Blood samples
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., has launched the QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit, a digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that can monitor molecular response to therapy in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
The kit has a CE-IVD mark and is available for in vitro diagnostic use in Europe, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.
The QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit uses Bio-Rad’s Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) technology to provide an absolute measure of BCR-ABL transcripts.
The kit measures BCR-ABL1 and ABL1 chromosomal transcripts in total RNA from whole blood of t(9;22)-positive CML patients expressing BCR-ABL1 fusion transcripts type e13a2 and/or e14a2.
The QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit measures the e13a2 and/or e14a2 transcripts of BCR-ABL1, normalized to the ABL1 endogenous control. The kit does not differentiate between e13a2 and e14a2 transcripts and does not monitor other rare fusion transcripts resulting from t(9;22).
The kit’s results are reported as percent reduction from a baseline of 100% on the International Scale (%IS) and on a log molecular reduction (MR) scale.
The kit is able to detect deep molecular response values of MR 4.7 (%IS 0.002) or MR 5.0 (%IS 0.001) in 2- or 4-well formats. This exceeds the typical limitations of reverse transcription quantitative PCR-based tests that are reliable down to MR 4.5 (%IS 0.0032).
Bio-Rad says the QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit delivers absolute quantitation, which eliminates the need for standard curves and minimizes variation between samples. The kit also provides scalable throughput, allowing for testing of 8 to 48 samples per run.
The QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit can be used with Bio-Rad’s QX200 AutoDG ddPCR Dx System or with the QX200 ddPCR Dx System. The QXDx BCR-ABL %IS Kit uses QuantaSoft Software v1.7 for data acquisition and output.
