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MSK and PathoQuest Test Method to Detect Infection in Patients With Febrile Neutropenia
A new collaboration between PathoQuest and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) will test the best method to identify microorganisms responsible for infections in patients with febrile neutropenia.
A new collaboration between PathoQuest and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) will test the best method to identify microorganisms responsible for infections in patients with febrile neutropenia.
MSK will test PathoQuest’s iDTECT Blood test and compare it with the standard testing methods. The iDTECT Blood test is a CE-IVD test based on next-generation sequencing that allows clinicians to detect bacteria and viruses in blood samples from immunocompromised patients with suspected infections.
“This study will add to the clinical evidence we have accumulated to date which demonstrates the improved ability to identify bacteria and virus from blood samples using next-generation sequencing technology in combination with our proprietary iDTECT Blood sample preparation process and bioinformatics solution,” Jean-Francois Brepson, PathoQuest’s CEO, said in a statement.
The current standards for diagnosing microorganisms in immunocompromised patients that may cause infection are not “timely or effective,” said Yi‐Wei Tang, MD, PhD, chief of the Clinical Microbiology Service at MSK, and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Patients who are potentially immunosuppressed from chemotherapy have an increased risk of infection from bacteria such as Mycobacterium and Clostridium difficile. As patients’ absolute neutrophil count falls, the risk of serious infection increases. PathoQuest believes that its test offers an improved method for detecting bacteria in blood samples, which can lead to better treatment.
“This collaboration will enable the identification of bacteria and viruses responsible for infections and aligns with our mission to improve the quality of care for patients,” Tang said.
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Patients with hematologic malignancy who are undergoing chemotherapy or a conditioning regimen for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) are at high risk of infection because of the severity and duration of neutropenia. Fever with neutropenia is a common presentation that suggests an infection leading to empiric antibacterial therapy. To prevent infection and thus the neutropenic fever, antibacterial prophylaxis, especially with fluoroquinolones, emerged as a common practice based on results of 2 randomized controlled trials published in 2005 that showed reduced incidence of fever and bacteremia despite lack of a mortality benefit.
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