We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Liquid Biopsy Predicts Immunotherapy Response and Toxicity in Advanced Lung Cancer Patients

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 13 Dec 2023

Immunotherapy has been a game-changer in treating lung cancer patients, yet assessing its effectiveness remains a challenge. More...

The absence of reliable biomarkers means reliance on imaging and patient symptoms to gauge clinical responses. Now, new noninvasive tests offer clinicians a way to evaluate treatment responses and foresee potential side effects at an early stage, allowing for timely adjustments in therapeutic approaches.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, MD, USA) have explored the use of a "liquid biopsy" to analyze genetic material from tumors that enter the bloodstream along with immune cells. This approach could enable clinicians to predict which patients with advanced lung cancers are responding to immunotherapies and identify those who might experience immune-related side effects later on. In a study of 30 patients undergoing immunotherapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancers, the team monitored changes in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). They found that molecular responses, indicated by the reduction of tumor genetic material in the bloodstream, were closely linked with progression-free and overall survival rates.

Additionally, the research included serial blood tests that identified an increase in T cells, the immune cells known for recognizing and attacking foreign entities on tumor cells. This was particularly evident in patients who developed immune-related adverse events, like lung tissue inflammation, up to five months before clinical symptoms appeared. This finding was corroborated in a separate group of 49 patients with advanced lung cancers. The liquid biopsy proved beneficial in understanding the clinical outcomes of patients who appeared to have stable disease on imaging.

“All of the patients who appeared to have stable disease on imaging tests had very different DNA molecular response patterns that helped predict their overall clinical outcomes,” said senior study author Valsamo “Elsa” Anagnostou, M.D., Ph.D. “This is a particular subset of patients for whom we may want to intervene, and use liquid biopsies to guide therapeutic decision-making, as ctDNA can rapidly and accurately capture the amount of cancer present.”

Related Links:
Johns Hopkins Medicine


New
Gold Member
Serological Pipets
INTEGRA Serological Pipets
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
New
Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase Assay
LIAISON Anti-TPO
New
Host Response Immunoassay Test
MeMed BV
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.