The month of VarSeq must be October. This month we saw incredible research and clinical application being utilized with the VarSeq suite. Whole exome sequencing and variant filtering and annotation, CNV calling for oncology research, and pathogenicity classification using the ACMG guidelines. VarSeq was able to be a front-runner this month, showing the full range of capabilities. Germline RB1 Mutation… Read more »
There are a number of conferences coming up on our schedule in the next few weeks. It’s a great opportunity check out the latest developments at Golden Helix and see exciting technologies in action. These conferences are a wonderful opportunity to discuss new discoveries in genomics. We will be there with our clinical NGS analysis software, the VarSeq suite, to… Read more »
This past month has produced some very interesting and diverse publications, all of which are using the VarSeq suite of products for whole exome & whole genome sequencing strategies. This month had it all: investigations of an understudied population in pharmacogenomic testing, the first-ever find with implications for Maine coon cats, and a puzzling case with a unique family displaying… Read more »
Thank you to those who attended our webcast on the user perspective of our automated AMP guidelines! Furthermore, let me express our appreciation for those particularly engaged users who posed some very thoughtful questions. While we weren’t able to answer all of them live, I hope to shed some light on some pertinent details of somatic analysis here. Let’s start… Read more »
First, thank you to everyone who joined us for our recent webcast, Handling a Variety of CNV Caller Inputs with VarSeq. Also, we would like to thank those that Tweeted #CNVsupport @GoldenHelix or emailed us (mmarks@goldenhelix.com) to throw in their questions. This was a successful trial run, and we would like to continue engaging with our users through these outlets…. Read more »
Oftentimes, the endpoint of a clinical variant analysis is a standardized, clinical report. As such, we ship a number of default templates with VSClinical for users to report their findings. But these templates are just a starting point! Our platform allows users to fully customize their reports to adhere to lab-specific preferences. We have shared a plethora of how-to’s on… Read more »
In the era where cloud-based solutions are the default for the modern office, it may not be obvious why many laboratories and testing centers choose to host their data and analysis pipelines on-premises or on self-managed cloud services. In the recent webcast Evaluating Cloud vs On-Premises for NGS Clinical Workflows, I explored the topic of how to make infrastructure decisions… Read more »
While the interpretation of germline variants generally focuses on the pathogenicity of a variant for a specific disease, the interpretation of somatic variants is centered around each variant’s impact on clinical care. As a result, clinical trials play an important role in assessing the clinical significance of somatic biomarkers, with the AMP Guidelines assigning a higher level of evidence to… Read more »
Curated databases are a real time saver when compiling published evidence to support your variant evaluations and classifications. Leveraging the curated databases at your fingertips in our VSClinical variant interpretation hub is even more efficient. Not only does VSClinical provides users with automated variant classification for germline variants according to the ACMG guidelines and somatic variants according to the AMP… Read more »
I’d like to take a moment to announce the release of updated gene tracks for the GRCh38 genome assembly! Gene annotation tracks are essential to all VarSeq projects and workflows. Whether your favorite gene track is Ensembl or RefSeq, both sources have been updated and released and can be used for variant annotation. These gene tracks are used to annotate… Read more »
Tumor profiling via next generation sequencing (NGS) often reveals secondary germline variants that may constitute important incidental findings. In May 2021, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) released an updated policy statement for reporting incidental findings in exome and genome sequencing data along with a corresponding list of genes. These recommendations state that laboratories should report pathogenic… Read more »
VarSeq software again takes center stage in our recent publications for February. It is our great honor to be a part of the groundbreaking discoveries highlighted below as well as the many others too numerous to include in this blog post! We are happy to contribute to scientific findings from all our analysis platforms, but we are especially proud of… Read more »
Thanks to all those who attended the recent webcast by Dr. Rana Smalling, “Integrating Custom Gene Panels for Variant Annotations”. If you were unable to attend or would like to recap, here is a link to watch the broadcast. We covered a lot of content regarding virtual gene panels, and there were several questions submitted during our Q&A session that… Read more »
In our previous blog, we covered the highlights of our Advanced Report Customization in VSClinical webcast in the context of germline clinical reports. Now, we bring you the next of the series: somatic clinical reports. In the recent webcast, Advanced Report Customization, we covered a range of somatic-focused clinical reports, demonstrating how easy it is to create AMP guideline-based clinical… Read more »
The articles we saw this November and December cited a wide range of applications of our product suite. The following publications feature usage of our SNP & Variation Suite, VSClinical, and VarSeq products. We see them being utilized to identify loci associated with facial eczema in New Zealand sheep, somatic mutation response impact, and assisting in estimating breast cancer risk… Read more »
As the number of genes on a gene panel increases, there is the possibility of picking up variants of medical significance that are not related to the primary indication for the test. Especially with large gene panels, exomes, and genomes, it is medically and ethically important to report variants that may be actionable to the patient. These include variants implicating… Read more »
When it comes to clinical variant analysis for germline variants using ACMG guidelines, we understand that the clinical report is essentially the receipt for your services for the patient. In our recent webcast, Advanced Report Customization in VSClinical, we displayed several examples of report templates to show off the range of possibilities our users have to format their clinical report…. Read more »
In February 2020, the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) and the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) published a joint consensus on standards for the interpretation and reporting of copy number variants (CNVs) ranging from large CNVs spanning multiple genes to small intragenic events1. The guidelines consist of over 80 different criteria which are arranged into five distinct sections. These extensive… Read more »
Thank you to everyone who attended Using Golden Helix CancerKB to Accelerate NGS Cancer Testing! I had a great time showing off CancerKB and how it can enhance NGS analysis in cancer, I certainly hope you enjoyed it! If you were unable to make the live session, we have added the on-demand recording to our site, or we would be… Read more »
As a newer member of the Golden Helix FAS Team I, like many of our customers, went through a phase of learning the ins, outs, and shortcuts of clicking around the program. In an effort to expedite new users coming up to speed, or to teach some tricks to experienced users, I’ve compiled a list of the top things I… Read more »
