Minimal residual disease (MRD) continues to be a central focus at the AACR meeting. The small numbers of cancer cells that remain in the body after treatment helps gauge the effectiveness of a treatment and relapse risk. The ability to detect those cells, even in tiny amounts, is an ongoing goal of the cancer community.
At this year’s AACR, the sequencing company Ultima Genomics is announcing new findings in this area using its ppmSeq technology. The data will be presented across six abstracts, including a plenary session.
Highlighting the program will be initial TRACERx (TRAcking Cancer Evolution through therapy (Rx)) MRD data showcasing performance of ppmSeq relative to ultrasensitive bespoke panels.
TRACERx is a long-term study—one of the largest tumor evolution studies—funded by Cancer Research UK. The program analyzes how cancer evolves, spreads to other parts of the body, and develops resistance to treatments. Instead of taking just one biopsy, researchers sample different parts of the same tumor and metastases; the program involves sequencing multi-region and multi-time-point genetic data from over 3,200 tumor samples from over 800 lung cancer patients.
The data will be presented at a plenary session by Charles Swanton, FRCP, BSc, PhD, professor at The Francis Crick Institute in the U.K. He will present an early validation pilot of ppmSeq across 50 plasma samples—using tumor-specific variants identified from prior whole genome sequencing—achieved high analytical sensitivity for ctDNA detection at low single-digit parts-per-million.
“TRACERx has always followed the science of cancer evolution wherever it leads,” said Swanton. “Improving the sensitivity of ctDNA detection is central to the wider ambition for MRD monitoring, and expanding studies across a broader patient population will give us the statistical power and clinical context to determine how whole genome MRD monitoring can be deployed at NHS scale and beyond.”
Data from collaborators will also be presented at the conference. Labcorp will present data from an independent analytical study of an assay developed in coordination with ppmSeq technology, including the performance across multiple solid tumor types in pre-surgical, treatment-naive plasma samples. This analysis of 120 non-cancerous donor samples showed specificity exceeding 99.9%, underscoring the ability of ppmSeq whole genome sequencing to accurately differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous samples, minimizing false positives. Additional analysis across three commercially available cancer cell lines spanning 13 concentration levels from 0.5 to 500 parts per million showed a 95% limit of detection below 3 ppm, demonstrating the assay’s capacity to detect ultra-low levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).
“For a long time, the question has been whether you can get truly ultra-sensitive MRD detection from a whole genome approach without all the complexity of bespoke assays,” notes Gilad Almogy, PhD, CEO of Ultima Genomics. “What these AACR data show is that the answer is yes. We’re seeing ppmSeq deliver the level of sensitivity needed to make whole genome MRD practical, scalable, and much easier to deploy globally.”
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