Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal malignancies, largely because it is rarely caught early and diagnosed too late for curative treatment. The five-year survival rate remains around 12%, and currently tools-such as imaging and CA19-9 blood test-often miss early-stage cases. There is currently no recommended population-wide screening method for PDAC.

The new test model from Geneseeq analyzes cfDNA fragmentomics-specific patterns of DNA fragments shed into the bloodstream by cancer cells. By applying advanced machine learning algorithm to shallow whole-genome sequencing data, the test can detect subtle genomic and epigenetic changes associated with early-stage PDAC.

Key clinical results:

• Achieved 93.4% sensitivity and 95.2% specificity in the training cohort
• Reached 90.91-97.3% sensitivity and 92.8-94.5% specificity in multiple validation cohorts
• Demonstrated strong performance even in early-state cancers
• Outperformed CA19-9, especially in individuals with normal bilirubin levels

“Our cfDNA fragmentomics model offers a practical, highly accurate, and non-invasive option for detecting pancreatic cancer early,” said Dr. Hua Bao, VP of R&D at Geneseeq. “It could support earlier identification of at-risk individuals, allowing timely clinical follow-up and potentially improving outcomes.”

What makes this approach especially promising is its clinical feasibility. The test uses low-coverage sequencing (as little as 0.5×), making it cost-effective and suitable for broader population screening. The test also showed high stability, even with lower DNA sequencing data, and could be used to monitor high-risk patients or suspicious pancreatic lesions. The researchers also estimated that applying this test at the population level could reduce pancreatic cancer mortality by up to 27%, by catching more cancers at a treatable stage.

Further research is underway to refine the model’s application in screening programs and to validate its effectiveness in more diverse populations. Clinicians may soon have a powerful new tool to help combat one of the hardest-to-detect cancers.

About Geneseeq

Geneseeq Technology Inc. (Geneseeq) is a research-driven leader in precision oncology, utilizing cutting-edge next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies to advance cancer care. The company provides comprehensive genomic profiling solutions for all tumor types, including pan-cancer and cancer-specific panels, alongside cutting-edge tools for minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring and multi-cancer early detection (MCED). Geneseeq has reached key regulatory milestones to date, including CE-IVD certification for its solid tumor and hematologic cancer panels, and FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for its MCED test, CanScan®. The company has also received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for GeneseeqPrime, designed for tumor mutational burden (TMB) detection in lung cancer.

The post Geneseeq Unveils Groundbreaking Blood Test for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer appeared first on Geneseeq Technology Inc. | A Precision Oncology Company.

This study recruited 119 LARC patients who were treated with nCRT plus total mesorectal excision (TME) from the year 2016 to 2017, and serial plasma samples at baseline, during nCRT, and after surgery were collected and subjected to deep targeted-panel sequencing of 422 cancer-related genes. As the traditional MRI approach was not sufficient to predict pCR, researchers in this study compared different pCR prediction models that incorporate only ctDNA features, only MRI data, or the combination of ctDNA and MRI data.

Notably, by combining the results of ctDNA and MRI, the prediction model (AUC=0.886) demonstrated a superior capacity to predict pCR and non-pCR patients, compared with the models that only utilized one set of data (AUC=0.818 and 0.729, respectively). As a result, the newly developed combination model could more accurately assess the treatment response of nCRT. This could help patients access personalized subsequent treatment plans and help reach the optimal balance between quality of life and treatment efficacy. Moreover, the researchers discovered certain pathological risk features, as well as the detection of some diver genetic alterations in ctDNA, were highly correlated with disease recurrence, so these ctDNA and pathological features could be potentially used to predict patients’ prognosis for LARC.

“Accurate predictions of response to therapy will direct patients to the most appropriate treatment regimes,” says Dr. Hua Bao, the Director of Research & Development at Geneseeq. Since 2017, Geneseeq continues to work on minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring through its CALIBRATE^TM (monitoring post-surgery CAncer recurrence by ctDNA LIquid Biopsy RATing) program for colorectal cancer patients.

The post Geneseeq Study Evaluates ctDNA MRD to Predict Response to Therapy and Assess Prognosis in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer appeared first on Geneseeq Technology Inc. | A Precision Oncology Company.