Comparison of high-resolution melting analysis, Sanger sequencing and ARMS for KRAS mutation detection in metastatic colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND

Treatment of metastatic colon carcinoma with the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody cetuximab/panitumumab is reported to be ineffective in KRAS-mutant tumors; therefore, it is necessary to perform KRAS mutation analysis before cetuximab or panitumumab treatment is initiated.

METHODS

This study was designed to compare and evaluate the efficacy of three different methodologies--high resolution melting (HRM), Sanger sequencing, and Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ARMS)--for KRAS mutation detection in a clinical setting.

RESULTS

In total, 55 samples from patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were analyzed. Compared to Sanger sequencing, good consistency was found between the results of the ARMS (Kappa = 0.839) and HRM (Kappa = 0.839). The sensitivities of the methods were compared after a consensus was reached: if two of the three methodologies showed a similar result, it was considered as the consensus result. The frequency of KRAS mutations in our population was 34.5%, and discordant findings were observed in five samples. No significant difference in sensitivity was found among the three methodologies.

CONCLUSIONS

From the results, we can conclude that after careful in-laboratory validation, HRM is a good alternative to the ARMS and Sanger sequencing for KRAS mutation testing.