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Van den Heerik ASV, Ter Haar NT, Vermij L, Jobsen JJ, Brinkhuis M, Roothaan SM, Leon-Castillo A, Ortoft G, Hogdall E, Hogdall C, Van Wezel T, Lutgens LC, Haverkort MA, Khattra J, McAlpine JN, Creutzberg CL, Smit VT, Gilks CB, Horeweg N, Bosse T. QPOLE: A Quick, Simple, and Cheap Alternative for POLE Sequencing in Endometrial Cancer by Multiplex Genotyping Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction. JCO Glob Oncol 2023; 9:e2200384. [PMID: 37229628 PMCID: PMC10497260 DOI: 10.1200/go.22.00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Detection of 11 pathogenic variants in the POLE gene in endometrial cancer (EC) is critically important to identify women with a good prognosis and reduce overtreatment. Currently, POLE status is determined by DNA sequencing, which can be expensive, relatively time-consuming, and unavailable in hospitals without specialized equipment and personnel. This may hamper the implementation of POLE-testing in clinical practice. To overcome this, we developed and validated a rapid, low-cost POLE hotspot test by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay, QPOLE. MATERIALS AND METHODS Primer and fluorescence-labeled 5'-nuclease probe sequences of the 11 established pathogenic POLE mutations were designed. Three assays, QPOLE-frequent for the most common mutations and QPOLE-rare-1 and QPOLE-rare-2 for the rare variants, were developed and optimized using DNA extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. The simplicity of the design enables POLE status assessment within 4-6 hours after DNA isolation. An interlaboratory external validation study was performed to determine the practical feasibility of this assay. RESULTS Cutoffs for POLE wild-type, POLE-mutant, equivocal, and failed results were predefined on the basis of a subset of POLE mutants and POLE wild-types for the internal and external validation. For equivocal cases, additional DNA sequencing is recommended. Performance in 282 EC cases, of which 99 were POLE-mutated, demonstrated an overall accuracy of 98.6% (95% CI, 97.2 to 99.9), a sensitivity of 95.2% (95% CI, 90.7 to 99.8), and a specificity of 100%. After DNA sequencing of 8.8% equivocal cases, the final sensitivity and specificity were 96.0% (95% CI, 92.1 to 99.8) and 100%. External validation confirmed feasibility and accuracy. CONCLUSION QPOLE is a qPCR assay that is a quick, simple, and reliable alternative for DNA sequencing. QPOLE detects all pathogenic variants in the exonuclease domain of the POLE gene. QPOLE will make low-cost POLE-testing available for all women with EC around the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lisa Vermij
- Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jan J. Jobsen
- Radiation Oncology, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands
| | - Mariel Brinkhuis
- Pathology, Laboratorium Pathologie Oost-Nederland, Hengelo, the Netherlands
| | - Suzan M. Roothaan
- Pathology, Laboratorium Pathologie Oost-Nederland, Hengelo, the Netherlands
| | | | - Gitte Ortoft
- Department of Gynaecology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Estrid Hogdall
- Department of Pathology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Claus Hogdall
- Department of Gynaecology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Tom Van Wezel
- Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Ludy C.H.W. Lutgens
- Maastricht Radiation Oncology (MAASTRO), Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | | | - Jas Khattra
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Surrey Memorial Hospital, Surrey, BC, Canada
| | - Jessica N. McAlpine
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Carien L. Creutzberg
- Radiation Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - C. Blake Gilks
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Nanda Horeweg
- Radiation Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Tjalling Bosse
- Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands
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