Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Detection and Monitoring

Researchers are exploring ctDNA for personalizing breast cancer treatment in older women and for guiding adjuvant strategies in colon cancer. A simple blood test using liquid biopsy shows promise for rapid diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma in children in Africa. Natera's Signatera assay has demonstrated clinical utility in anal squamous cell carcinoma and locally advanced rectal cancer.

via GeneOnline·Oncology Central·Daily News Egypt

VolitionRx Limited has announced a breakthrough in liquid biopsy, becoming the first company to isolate and analyze over 99% pure circulating tumor-derived DNA (ctDNA) from blood plasma. Their novel 'Capture-Seq' method combines physical enrichment with bioinformatic filtering to overcome the challenge of DNA originating from healthy cells. This advancement addresses a key hurdle in cancer detection.

via Morningstar·trial.medpath.com

The PREDICT-DNA study indicates that ctDNA clearance or persistence is a superior prognostic marker to pathologic complete response in HER2-positive or triple-negative breast cancer. New research also suggests protein biomarkers can complement ctDNA for early cancer detection, particularly for early-stage cancers where ctDNA shedding may be intermittent. Additionally, ctDNA assays show promise in bladder cancer for predicting recurrence risk and in advanced breast cancer for quantitative HER2 profiling to improve treatment outcome predictions.

via OncoDaily·Personalis·BioSpace

The SERENA-6 trial demonstrated that switching to camizestrant upon ctDNA detection of ESR1 mutations significantly improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer. Personalis's NeXT Personal test has received Medicare coverage for lung cancer surveillance, and Natera's MRD test shows broad utility across lymphoma subtypes and validation for colorectal cancer.

via The ASCO Post·OncoDaily·GenomeWeb

Updated data from the phase-2 ELEVATE trial indicate that elacestrant, when combined with everolimus or abemaciclib, improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, regardless of ESR1 mutation status. This suggests elacestrant's potential as a backbone for breast cancer combination regimens.

via Oncology News Central·int.livhospital.com·youtube.com

Recent advancements in liquid biopsy technology are enhancing precision medicine for colorectal cancer by enabling real-time monitoring of tumor evolution through the analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). This approach provides insights into tumor genetics without invasive tissue biopsies, aiding in the detection of resistance mutations and identification of therapeutic targets.

via GeneOnline News

Friends of Cancer Research is building evidence to validate circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as an early endpoint in oncology clinical trials through its ctMoniTR project. This initiative aims to establish ctDNA as a reliable marker for treatment response, potentially accelerating drug development.

via Precision Medicine Online

A phase 3b study published in Clinical Cancer Research found that early changes in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) strongly predict progression-free survival (PFS) in postmenopausal patients with HR+/HER2− advanced breast cancer treated with first-line ribociclib plus letrozole. Early ctDNA clearance was associated with improved PFS, and patients without new ctDNA alterations during treatment had a lower risk of progression.

via Docwire News

The CATE clinical trial has been launched to investigate the clinical utility of ctDNA-guided treatment in breast cancer, focusing on patients at risk for late recurrence. This trial is a collaboration between Personalis, Inc. and Yale Cancer Center. A recent podcast episode also explored the broad potential of liquid biopsies and ctDNA in cancer detection, treatment guidance, and monitoring.

via Business Wire·Cancer Research UK

New studies published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology and by Guardant Health indicate that a circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) blood test, Guardant Reveal, can more accurately identify patients at high risk of colon cancer recurrence after surgery compared to current standard methods. These findings support the routine use of ctDNA testing in post-surgical colon cancer care.

via curetoday.com·simplywall.st

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center developed a novel liquid biopsy method using the Epigenetic Instability Index (EII) for early-stage cancer detection. Additionally, Yale Medicine announced a Phase II trial (CATE) for ctDNA-guided adjuvant therapy in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancers.

via miragenews.com·yalemedicine.org

The phase 3 SERENA-6 trial demonstrated that using ctDNA monitoring to guide treatment changes improved progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced breast cancer patients. Personalis' NeXT Personal assay received Medicare coverage for lung cancer surveillance, and FDA-approved MCED tests are set for Medicare coverage following a federal spending bill.

via ASCO Post·Business Wire·GenomeWeb·GenomeWeb

Multi-modal liquid biopsy tests, such as SPOT-MAS, are expected to be routinely used in Southeast Asian countries for screening high-risk populations, indicating growing global integration into routine healthcare.

via frontiersin.org·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A new liquid biopsy test is being studied to predict how well patients with advanced breast cancer will respond to targeted therapies by analyzing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for early feedback on treatment effectiveness. Additionally, the BLOODPAC Consortium has introduced consensus recommendations for standardized analytical validation protocols for tumor-informed ctDNA assays used to detect Molecular Residual Disease (MRD). These protocols offer a framework for essential performance metrics for ctDNA assays.

via medicalnewstoday.com·oncodaily.com

Guardant Health received FDA approval for Guardant360® CDx as a companion diagnostic for BRAFTOVI® combination in patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer, further expanding the clinical utility of liquid biopsies.

via frontiersin.org·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov·pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A new study published in Annals of Surgery indicates that postoperative ctDNA (MRD) is a strong predictor of recurrence in rectal cancer patients with stage II-III disease. The study found that ctDNA-negative patients did not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, whereas ctDNA-positive patients showed significant benefit.

via oncodaily.com