NEW YORK – Tethis on Tuesday said it is collaborating with Weill Cornell Medicine to conduct cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis of blood samples from patients with early-stage breast cancer.
Researchers with the Massimo Cristofanilli lab at Weill Cornell will use Tethis' See.d platform to isolate plasma and prepare cytology slides from blood samples taken from breast cancer patients at key points during their treatment, including at diagnosis, therapy start, and post-surgery.
The Cristofanilli lab will conduct cfDNA analysis and Milan, Italy-based Tethis will look for CTCs in the cytology slides. The organizations will study the combined data for markers of treatment response, minimal residual disease rates, and outcomes.
"This approach integrates the analysis of CTCs and cfDNA, enabling a multiomic liquid biopsy from a single, minimally invasive blood draw," Carolina Reduzzi, assistant professor of cancer biology research at Weill Cornell, said in statement. "The possibility to integrate molecular and cellular residual disease in a single test might impact the sensitivity for the detection of residual disease after surgery."
In January, the Cristofanilli lab received a $2.4 million grant from the US Department of Defense for a separate study in which researchers are clinically validating a liquid biopsy test for early detection of breast cancer developed within a University of Calgary lab.