MGMT promoter methylation: assays, implications
October 2020—With MGMT gene promoter methylation observed in about 50 percent of glioblastomas, it remains a biomarker of strong clinical interest in routine practice, even though it’s not the sole determinant in decisions related to therapy. PCR and pyrosequencing are the most commonly used assays, and there’s a technique that is not yet mainstream but gaining interest, said Tejus A. Bale, MD, PhD, assistant attending pathologist in the Department of Neuropathology and Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Bale spoke June 30 in the first of a series of Association for Molecular Pathology webinars on emerging and evolving biomarkers.