Central Nervous System Tumours

Introduction

The WHO 2016 guidelines for classification of tumours of the central nervous system integrates molecular genomic information with histological analysis. The central nervous system tumour service offers a range of tests for the differential diagnosis of CNS tumours, provides prognostic information, and may aid in treatment decisions or clinical trial recruitment.

Referral information

We require a minimum 4x5µM thick unstained sections from a pathology specimen, either slide mounted or as scrolls (scrolls are required for KIAA1549-BRAF fusion testing), which must have been reviewed by a histopathologist and be accompanied by a completed test request form, clearly stating the proportion of neoplastic cells in the block. For optimum detection of somatic mutations >20% neoplastic cell content is required (>30% for TERT promoter mutation testing). Referrals will be accepted from oncologists and pathologists. If MGMT hypermethylation or KIAA1549-BRAF fusion testing is requested in addition to another test, we require an additional 4x5µM sections.

Price & reporting times

Test	Technique	Price (£ ex VAT)	TRT
hTERT promoter mutations	Sanger sequencing	POA	14cd
MGMT promoter hypermethylation	Pyrosequencing	POA	14cd
1p19q co-deletion	FISH	POA	14cd
BRAF codon 600 mutations	Pyrosequencing/COBAS	POA	14cd
KIAA1549:BRAF fusion	Droplet Digital PCR	POA	14cd
C11orf95-RELA fusion	Droplet Digital PCR	POA	14cd
EGFRvIII Transcript	Droplet Digital PCR	POA	14cd
Meningioma/schwannoma panel	Next generation sequencing panel	POA	14cd
NGS Somatic cancer/ Glioma sub-panel	Next generation sequencing panel	POA	14cd

Test validation & quality assurance - information for users

Referral guidelines

Please see our referral guidelines for more information.