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Liquid biopsy- A pivotal test to help navigate clinical decisions at a precision center in India!

J Liq Biopsy. 2025 Aug 9;9:100323. doi: 10.1016/j.jlb.2025.100323. eCollection 2025 Sep.

ABSTRACT

Liquid biopsy, specifically circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis, has emerged as a transformative tool in precision oncology, providing real-time, minimally invasive characterizations of the tumor and tumor dynamics. While tissue biopsy is a critical tool for baseline diagnosis of malignancy, it is often limited by sampling constraints and an inability to capture tumor heterogeneity. In this study, we explored the clinical utility of serial ctDNA testing in guiding therapeutic decisions across a cohort of 30 patients with diverse solid tumors. Our real-world analysis demonstrates that ctDNA profiling meaningfully influenced treatment escalation, de-escalation, disease monitoring, and early relapse prediction. Cases where ctDNA positivity indicated minimal residual disease prompted timely escalation of therapy, while ctDNA clearance allowed safe treatment de-intensification, minimizing toxicity without compromising outcomes. Longitudinal ctDNA monitoring provided a dynamic, non-invasive method for assessing treatment response and detecting recurrence months before radiological progression. Our study highlights the potential of integrating liquid biopsy into routine clinical practice to enable dynamic treatment monitoring, early detection of therapeutic resistance, and more informed, personalized decision-making across various cancer types.

PMID:40919127 | PMC:PMC12409318 | DOI:10.1016/j.jlb.2025.100323

The WHO global landscape of cancer clinical trials

Nature Medicine, Published online: 09 September 2025; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-03926-x

This Review of the WHO’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform presents a snapshot of the global cancer trial landscape and provides critical empirical evidence to inform policy, practice and investment.
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  • STAT+: FDA greenlights trial of gene-edited pig kidneys as treatment for end-stage kidney disease Eric Boodman and Megan Molteni
    DOVER, N.H. — Not long after he woke from surgery in June, Bill Stewart made a  pact with his newest organ. He wasn’t sure how long the thing would last. The doctors had been up-front from the get-go: It could be three months or six, one year or four. Still, the uncertainty hit him as he started getting back preliminary lab results, which were okay but left room for improvement. “My pig kidney and I had a little conversation while I was laying there. I just basically said, ‘I’m going to do every
     

STAT+: FDA greenlights trial of gene-edited pig kidneys as treatment for end-stage kidney disease

8 September 2025 at 20:00

DOVER, N.H. — Not long after he woke from surgery in June, Bill Stewart made a  pact with his newest organ. He wasn’t sure how long the thing would last. The doctors had been up-front from the get-go: It could be three months or six, one year or four. Still, the uncertainty hit him as he started getting back preliminary lab results, which were okay but left room for improvement. “My pig kidney and I had a little conversation while I was laying there. I just basically said, ‘I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that you stay healthy, and I appreciate you doing everything you can to keep me upright and breathing,” Stewart said.

It’s been almost three months, and Stewart is home, back to work, and has even been able to go e-biking on a lakeside trail with his wife, blessedly untethered to the grueling schedules of dialysis for the first time in years, all thanks to a gene-edited Yucatan miniature pig named Lavender. 

Stewart is the most recent recipient of a pig kidney — but chances are, he won’t hold that distinction for long. On Monday, eGenesis, a Cambridge-based biotechnology company, announced that it had been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration to begin a trial of kidneys from donor pigs that have been CRISPR’d to make their organs more human-friendly. Now, Massachusetts researchers will be performing more surgeries like Stewart’s to see whether these animal parts could serve as a lifeline for people with end-stage renal disease.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

© Cheryl Senter for STAT

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