Blood Test Could Detect Cancer Proteins for Personalized Immunotherapy
- Liquid biopsy blood tests could soon detect specific cancer proteins and pave the way for personalized immunotherapies, according to research published in the journal Cancer Discovery.
- The research team focused on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), which consists of genetic material released by cancer cells into the bloodstream.
- The blood-based approach also uncovered numerous neoantigens that standard tissue testing missed.
Liquid biopsy blood tests could soon detect specific cancer proteins and pave the way for personalized immunotherapies, according to research published in the journal Cancer Discovery. A study led by the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Group at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) demonstrates that blood samples can identify tumor neoantigens and the immune cells equipped to attack them.
Detecting Tumor Mutations Through Circulating DNA
The research team focused on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), which consists of genetic material released by cancer cells into the bloodstream. By isolating and sequencing ctDNA from blood samples, investigators aimed to track the mutations driving a patient’s tumor. The study analyzed samples from six patients diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and colorectal cancer. When compared against conventional tissue biopsy results, the ctDNA analysis identified between 63.25% and 97.4% of the neoantigens found in the standard tissue examinations across all six cases.
Advantages and Limitations in Metastatic Disease
The blood-based approach also uncovered numerous neoantigens that standard tissue testing missed. According to the study authors, this suggests that analyzing circulating tumor DNA could offer a vision more representative of the distinct neoantigens present in patients with metastatic disease.
However, the method encountered limitations in two additional participants—one with breast cancer and another with head and neck cancer. In those specific cases, researchers could not isolate ctDNA from the blood samples because some tumors release a low quantity of DNA to the bloodstream,
as noted by the authors.
Implications for Tailored Cancer Treatments
By mapping both circulating tumor DNA and immune cells from blood draws, oncology teams can gain a profile of a patient’s cancer mutations. This molecular mapping forms the foundation for developing individualized immunotherapies tailored to target specific neoantigens unique to each patient’s tumor expression. The VHIO findings highlight how blood-based biomarker detection can be used as a tool in precision oncology.