Would the Precise Tumor Test be more precise if ctc's were tested14 Apr 2026 16:17
As well?
AI Overview
Yes, testing Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) in addition to the DNA/RNA profiling performed by the Precise Tumor Test would likely increase the overall precision and clinical utility of the assessment, particularly by providing real-time, functional insights into tumor dynamics.
While the Precise Tumor Test (by Myriad) is a comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) assay analyzing DNA and RNA to find actionable mutations, adding CTC analysis—which captures whole, intact tumor cells that have broken away from the tumor—offers complementary, "live" information.
Here is how CTC testing would make the test more precise:
Real-Time Monitoring of Tumor Dynamics: CTC counts reflect the immediate status of the cancer in the blood, allowing for the monitoring of disease progression or treatment response in real-time, whereas tissue-based DNA tests (like Precise Tumor) might miss rapid changes.
Identification of Functional Resistance Mechanisms: CTCs can be analyzed for protein expression (e.g., HER2, PD-L1) or RNA variants (e.g., AR-V7) that explain why a tumor is not responding to therapy, even if DNA mutations don't show the full picture.
Capturing Heterogeneous Subpopulations: CTCs may represent different, more aggressive subclones of a tumor that are not present in a single tissue biopsy, providing a more comprehensive "liquid biopsy" of the whole-body tumor landscape.
Detection of Minimal Residual Disease (MRD): CTCs can be used to detect tiny amounts of cancer remaining after surgery or treatment that are too small to show up on imaging tests, potentially identifying high-risk patients earlier.
Complementary Approach
The most effective precision medicine approach involves combining these methods:
Precise Tumor Test (DNA/RNA): Identifies what mutations are present to guide targeted therapies.
CTC Testing: Identifies how many cells are present, how they are behaving, and how they are changing in response to treatment.
While ctDNA (circulating tumor DNA) tests are already used for similar purposes, CTCs offer the unique advantage of providing whole, living cells for functional studies
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