Cancer diagnosis for solid tumors has traditionally relied on biopsied tumor tissue. For patients already diagnosed with lung cancer, blood-based liquid biopsies are increasingly being used to look for bits of tumor proteins or DNA that can help identify suitable treatment options. The US FDA has even approved two liquid biopsies that can detect actionable mutations in lung cancer.

However, there are several liquid biopsies technologies, and researchers are exploring whether those could be used to answer other questions in the cancer space, such as:

• Early detection: Is cancer present? If so, where is it?
• Treatment monitoring: Is my treatment working? Is my cancer growing or spreading?
• Prognosis: Is there any cancer remaining after treatment? Am I at high risk for a cancer recurrence? Might I benefit from further treatment?

Some liquid biopsy products that might answer these kinds of questions are in development, and may soon receive regulatory approval.

Cancer patient and research advocate Janet Freeman-Daily (@JFreemanDaily) is excited to moderate this week’s #LCSM Chat on the topic of liquid biopsies and host our two special guests:

• Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, (@CharuAggarwalMD) is the Leslye M. Heisler Associate Professor for Lung Cancer Excellence at Penn Medicine. Her clinical research focus is on the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches, and the discovery and application of biomarkers to guide therapy and monitor treatment.
• Lecia Sequist, MD, MPH, (@LeciaSequist) is the Landry Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Center for Innovation in Early Cancer Detection at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research focuses on studying targeted therapeutics for lung cancer and bringing new non-invasive tests like circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA to treat and detect lung cancer.

Please join us on Thursday, March 4th, at 8 pm Eastern Time (5 pm Pacific) to address the following topics:

• T1. What are the different methods of liquid biopsy (liquid Bx)? What are the advantages and pitfalls of each?
• T2.  How might liquid Bx be used for treatment monitoring and detecting disease progression?
• T3. How might liquid biopsy be used for prognosis or to measure cancer remaining after treatment?
• T4. How might liquid biopsy be used for early detection of cancer?

Please join us, and bring your experiences and wisdom! Remember to include #LCSM in ALL your tweets so the other chat participants can see them. You can read a primer on participating in the chat here. We look forward to chatting with you!

Added 6-March-2021:
Check out @Wakelet summary of this chat. You can click on tweets or links, or download as pdf.