SmartPractice donates $50,000 to support TGen's development of liquid biopsies

In support of efforts to find better ways of diagnosing and monitoring breast cancer patients, SmartPractice today donated $50,000 to the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

This SmartPractice gift will support TGen's development of "liquid biopsies," which are simple, low-cost, non-invasive blood tests that can help clinicians more accurately treat patients with cancer.

Specifically, TGen is working with researchers at Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus on a study to test the effectiveness of liquid biopsies in the care of women with high-risk, early-stage breast cancer.

These non-invasive tests, which require a blood sample, could enable continuous monitoring of a patient's progress, letting doctors know if the cancer recurs. Standard treatment includes surgery, with chemotherapy and/or radiation. These tests also could help physicians determine when a patient has received enough post-operative treatment, or if additional treatment is needed.

"TGen's work in liquid biopsies could be a huge advance towards better care for breast cancer patients," said Dr. Curt Hamann, CEO of SmartPractice. "Their research holds great potential to substantially increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments, while minimizing side effects and even lowering healthcare costs."

Dr. Muhammed Murtaza, Co-Director of TGen's Center for Noninvasive Diagnostics, leads the research in this area. His team is using fragments of DNA, called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), which are shed by tumors and circulate in the blood stream of patients. These genetic markers could help determine the precise nature of each patient's tumor.

"Each patient's tumor is unique, and each patient's response to treatment is different," said Dr. Murtaza, who also is on the research faculty at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "Using liquid biopsies, we hope to identify those patients who are most at-risk for their cancer to return, and which patients can be cured using the minimal amount of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, thus ensuring prompt and accurate treatment, while at the same time minimizing the potential for debilitating side effects."

"For each patient, we analyze their tumor samples to develop a personalized diagnostic test that can help identify residual disease or recurrence of cancer," said Dr. Murtaza. "If we are successful in demonstrating that residual disease can be accurately detected, or ruled out, using ctDNA, we will set up prospective clinical trials and national funding support to validate our findings and develop the next generation of precision-medicine treatment guidelines for early breast cancer."