Granted Patent B2

US 12,624,394 · App. 19/251,197 · Granted May 12, 2026

Inventors: Gabor T. Bartha (Los Altos, CA); Gemma Chandratillake (Cambridge, GB); Richard Chen (Burlingame, CA); Sarah Garcia (Palo Alto, CA); Hugo Yu Kor Lam (Sunnyvale, CA); Mark R. Pratt (Roseburg, OR); John West (Cupertino, CA)

Assignee: Personalis, Inc.

C12Q1/6874C12Q1/6806G16B20/00G16B20/10G16B20/20G16B30/00G16B35/10G16B99/00C12Q1/6869G16B35/00G16C20/60

Abstract

Claims (66)

1 . A method for analyzing nucleic acid samples obtained from a subject, comprising:

(a) generating a first subset of nucleic acid molecules from a first nucleic acid sample obtained from a first sample from a subject suffering from a cancer at a first time point;

(b) conducting a first sequencing assay on the first subset of nucleic acid molecules to yield a first result comprising a first set of nucleic acid sequencing information, wherein:

(i) the first sequencing assay comprises whole genome sequencing by synthesis that produces a first set of nucleic acid sequencing information comprising a first set of sequence reads, wherein the first set of sequence reads comprises single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with heterozygous allelic forms, and

(ii) the first sequencing assay generates at least 2,000,000 reads per run;

(c) conducting a second sequencing assay on a second subset of nucleic acid molecules from a second nucleic acid sample obtained from the subject at the first time point or a second time point to yield a second result comprising a second set of nucleic acid sequencing information, wherein:

(i) the second sequencing assay comprises sequencing by synthesis that produces a second set of nucleic acid sequencing information comprising a second set of sequence reads, and

(ii) the second sequencing assay generates at least 2,000,000 reads per run;

(d) combining, with the aid of a computer processor, the first set of sequence reads and the second set of sequence reads to generate a combined result;

(e) based on the combined result, identifying a plurality of nucleic acid regions comprising variants;

(f) producing, with the aid of a computer processor, a plurality of pulldown probes, wherein:

(i) the plurality of pulldown probes comprises 10 or more pulldown probes with different sequences,

(ii) individual instances of the plurality of pulldown probes hybridize to individual instances of the plurality of nucleic acid regions comprising variants of step (e),

(iii) individual instances of the plurality of pulldown probes each comprise a label, and

(iv) the label comprises biotin or a magnetic particle;

(g) generating a third subset of nucleic acid molecules from a third nucleic acid sample obtained from the subject at a third time point, wherein the generating comprises:

(i) hybridizing at least part of the third nucleic acid sample with the plurality of pulldown probes,

(ii) separating pulldown probe-hybridized nucleic acid molecules from pulldown probe-free nucleic acid molecules, and

(iii) conducting one or more elution reactions on the pulldown probe-hybridized nucleic acid molecules;

(h) conducting a third sequencing assay on the third subset of nucleic acid molecules from the third nucleic acid sample to yield a third result comprising a third set of nucleic acid sequencing information, wherein:

(i) the third sequencing assay comprises sequencing by synthesis, and

(ii) the third sequencing assay generates at least 2,000,000 reads per run; and

(i) generating a biomedical report that includes biomedical information of the subject, wherein the biomedical information is indicative of the combined result or the third result and is predictive, prognostic, or diagnostic for a cancer.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to the conducting of step (c), generating the second set of nucleic acid molecules from the second nucleic acid sample of the subject by contacting at least part of the second nucleic acid sample with a second plurality of pulldown probes, wherein:

(i) the second plurality of pulldown probes comprises 10 or more pulldown probes with different sequences,

(ii) the second plurality of pulldown probes hybridizes to a genomic region feature comprising polymorphisms, and

(iii) individual instances of the second plurality of pulldown probes each comprise between about 10 to about 500 nucleotides.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein generating the second set of nucleic acid molecules further comprises:

(A) hybridizing the at least part of the second nucleic acid sample with the second plurality of pulldown probes; and

(B) separating pulldown probe-hybridized nucleic acid molecules from pulldown probe-free nucleic acid molecules.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein generating the second set of nucleic acid molecules further comprises:

(C) conducting one or more elution reactions on the pulldown probe-hybridized nucleic acid molecules.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein individual instances of the plurality of pulldown probes each comprise between about 10 to about 500 nucleotides.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises, prior to the conducting of step (b), amplifying the first subset of nucleic acid molecules to generate a first set of amplified nucleic acid molecules, and the first sequencing assay is performed on the first set of amplified nucleic acid molecules.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises, during the conducting of step (b), amplifying the first subset of nucleic acid molecules.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

(i) prior to the conducting of step (b), amplifying the first subset of nucleic acid molecules to generate a first set of amplified nucleic acid molecules; and

(ii) during the conducting of step (b), amplifying the first set of amplified nucleic acid molecules.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises, prior to the conducting of step (c), amplifying the second subset of nucleic acid molecules to generate a second set of amplified nucleic acid molecules, and the second sequencing assay is performed on the second set of amplified nucleic acid molecules.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises, during the conducting of step (c), amplifying the second subset of nucleic acid molecules.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

(i) prior to the conducting of step (c), amplifying the second subset of nucleic acid molecules to generate a second set of amplified nucleic acid molecules; and

(ii) during the conducting of step (c), amplifying the second set of amplified nucleic acid molecules.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises, prior to the conducting of step (h), amplifying the third subset of nucleic acid molecules to generate a third set of amplified nucleic acid molecules, and the third sequencing assay is performed on the third set of amplified nucleic acid molecules.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises, during the conducting of step (h), amplifying the third subset of nucleic acid molecules.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

(i) prior to the conducting of step (h), amplifying the third subset of nucleic acid molecules to generate a third set of amplified nucleic acid molecules; and

(ii) during the conducting of step (h), amplifying the third set of amplified nucleic acid molecules.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first sample from the subject suffering from cancer comprises a tumor sample.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second subset of nucleic acid molecules is isolated from a sample comprising a body fluid or a tissue sample.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the second subset of nucleic acid molecules is isolated from a body fluid, wherein the body fluid comprises blood, plasma, or a blood fraction.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the second subset of nucleic acid molecules is isolated from a tissue sample, wherein the tissue sample comprises a benign tissue sample.

19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the third subset of nucleic acid molecules is isolated from a sample comprising blood, plasma, or a blood fraction.

20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first subset of nucleic acid molecules, the second subset of nucleic acid molecules, and/or the third subset of nucleic acid molecules comprises DNA, RNA, DNA/RNA hybrids, or cDNA derived from RNA.

21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second nucleic acid sample is obtained at the first time point, and the third time point is subsequent to the first time point.

22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second nucleic acid sample is obtained at the second time point, the second time point is subsequent to the first time point, and the third time point is subsequent to the second time point.

23 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pulldown probes comprises 40 or more pulldown probes with different sequences.

24 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pulldown probes comprises 100 or more pulldown probes with different sequences.

25 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pulldown probes comprises 1000 or more pulldown probes with different sequences.

26 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the combining of step (d) comprises combining the first set of sequence reads and the second set of sequence reads:

(i) by means of a statistical algorithm utilizing one or more of base read quality and allele frequency to compute a consensus call at one or more applicable loci,

(ii) by means of a statistical algorithm utilizing one or more of quality and read coverage metrics to resolve one or more discordant genotypes, or

(iii) using a precedence rule that uses one or more of genomic context(s) and/or assay technology to resolve discordances between two or more sequencing data sets.

27 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the variants identified in the plurality of nucleic acid regions comprise one or more of: (i) insertions, (ii) deletions, (iii) single nucleotide mutations, or (iv) a combination thereof.

28 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying of step (e) comprises aligning the combined result to a reference sequence, and calling variants identified in the plurality of nucleic acid regions.

29 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second nucleic acid sample is obtained at the second time point, the second time point is prior to the first time point, and the third time point is subsequent to the first time point.

Assignments (4)

Continuity (14)

References Cited (400)