Next-generationsequencing(NGS)technologyiscapableofsequencingmillionsorbillionsofDNAmoleculessimultaneously.Therefore,itrepresentsapromisingtoolfortheanalysisofmoleculartargetsfortheinitialdiagnosisofdisease,monitoringofdiseaseprogression,andidentifyingthemechanismofdrugresistance.OnbehalfoftheTumorBiomarkerCommitteeoftheChineseSocietyofClinicalOncology(CSCO)andtheChinaActionableGenomeConsortium(CAGC),thepresentexpertgroupherebyproposesadvisoryguidelinesonclinicalapplicationsofNGStechnologyfortheanalysisofcancerdrivergenesforprecisioncancertherapy.Thisgroupcomprisesanassemblyoflaboratorycancergeneticists,clinicaloncologists,bioinformaticians,pathologists,andotherprofessionals.Aftermultipleroundsofdiscussionsandrevisions,theexpertgrouphasreachedapreliminaryconsensusontheneedofNGSinclinicaldiagnosis,itsregulation,andcompliancestandardsinclinicalsamplecollection.Moreover,ithaspreparedNGScriteria,thesequencingstandardoperationprocedure(SOP),dataanalysis,report,andNGSplatformcertificationandvalidation.
