In part two of our special from the UK Oncology Forum in Harrogate, Steve Bland is once again joined by Wayne Douglas, Programme Lead for Diagnosis and Treatment at the North East London Cancer Alliance, to talk about a potentially life-saving pilot project between the alliance and Natera, who are a world-leader in cell-free DNA testing with a focus on women’s health, oncology and organ health.
Steve and Wayne are joined by Dr Francesca Jackson-Spence, Clinical Research fellow in Genitourinary oncology at Bart’s Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, PhD candidate; and Dr Angel A. Rodriguez, MD Oncology and Senior Medical Director at Natera.
The project will evaluate the real-world impact in an NHS setting of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) testing using Signatera™ to inform follow-on treatment decisions of early stage urothelial and gastro-intestinal cancer patients. Signatera™ is a personalised and highly sensitive tumour-informed cDNA test for molecular residual disease detection (MRD), to inform treatment decisions for cancer patients with solid tumours.
This pilot will help better select the patients who need treatments, and de-escalate therapy for those who don’t need it