Northside Hospital is introducing a new test to help diagnose leukemia faster and more accurately, giving patients quicker answers and helping doctors choose the most effective treatments sooner.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and related blood cancers are not all the same. They can look similar but behave differently based on specific genetic changes inside the cancer cells. Identifying those changes early is important because many modern treatments are designed to target them.

Northside’s new RNA fusion next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel is a new diagnostic tool designed to detect ribonucleic acid fusions. The panel is based on the Oncomine Myeloid RNA Assay GX v2 and runs on the Ion Torrent Genexus next-generation sequencing system, which screens for hundreds of clinically relevant RNA fusions using bone marrow or peripheral blood samples. Results are available in just a few business days.

This faster turnaround helps doctors:

• Confirm the exact type of leukemia
• Identify targeted treatment options
• Make treatment decisions sooner

Some leukemias are caused by gene fusions, which happen when genes join together abnormally. These changes can affect how aggressive the cancer is and which treatments may work best. Finding these changes quickly can allow patients to start the right therapy right away.

The test can also help diagnose other rare blood disorders, including CMML, MDS/MPN overlap syndromes and hypereosinophilic syndromes, which can be difficult to identify and may otherwise delay treatment.

“What makes Northside’s new RNA fusion panel especially meaningful for the community is that it brings a level of advanced diagnostics closer to home,” said Dr. Joseph Maakaron, a physician at The Blood & Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia and the Northside Hospital Blood and Marrow Transplant, Leukemia and Immunotherapy Program. “Instead of sending samples to outside reference laboratories and waiting longer for results, patients can benefit from rapid, in-house testing.”