NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Research Institute (ALCMI) and liquid biopsy firm Inivata said today that they are collaborating on a study in which they will use the company's InVision circulating tumor DNA test in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients after surgery.
The goal of the study, called LIBERTI (Liquid Biopsy in Early Stage NSCLC Resected Lung Tumor Investigation), is to determine whether Inivata's platform has a role in measuring minimal residual disease in these patients, in order to predict which patients need further treatment and which are more likely to have been successfully cured by surgery alone. The partners also hope to study the utility of ctDNA testing for detecting early signs of recurrence.
The study will recruit up to 500 patients across approximately 10 ALCMI member institutions and will be co-led by Washington University investigators Ramaswamy Govindan and Daniel Morgensztern.
"The ability to monitor for cancer recurrence in NSCLC patients post-surgery, where existing tools are very poor, would be enormously beneficial for patients. It would potentially allow for earlier and better targeted treatment and could have a significant effect on patient outcomes," Govindan said in a statement.
According to Inivata Chief Medical Officer Clive Morris, the collaboration is part of the company's larger program to establish the clinical utility of InVision.
Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.