Natera, Fox Chase Cancer Center Partner for Oncology

Natera, Inc. has partnered with Fox Chase Cancer Center, one of the leading cancer centers in the United States, to assess the company's Signatera™ (Research-Use Only) customized circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assay for recurrence monitoring of kidney cancer. 

The study will analyze biological specimens collected and banked from 49 patients diagnosed with kidney cancer—including a group whose cancer recurred and a group that did not recur after three years or more. The study will use Natera's proprietary customized assay and next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based technology to determine whether Signatera (RUO) can be used to distinguish between the recurring and non-recurring kidney cancer cases. The study will be led by Philip Abbosh, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Molecular Therapeutics Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center.

"There is a paucity of data for circulating tumor DNA in kidney cancer. This research study will explore a novel approach for disease recurrence and treatment response monitoring in kidney cancer, since existing methods have limitations with sensitivity and specificity," Dr. Abbosh said. "Determining the relationship between kidney cancer genetic profiles and prognosis including recurrence using the Signatera assay has great potential to improve patient care by detecting cancer recurrence earlier, assisting adjuvant therapy decision-making, determining treatment effects, and assessing the need for intervention during follow-up."

Kidney cancer is among the 10 most common cancers in both men and women.1 According to the American Cancer Society, more than 60,000 new cases of kidney cancer will be diagnosed this year, and nearly 15,000 people will die from this disease.

C. Jimmy Lin, M.D., Ph.D., M.H.S., Natera's chief scientific officer, Oncology, said, "We look forward to working with Fox Chase Cancer Center," Dr. Lin said. "We expect that this study, along with our ongoing research efforts in other cancer types, will help us move toward clinically validating Signatera, with the goal of enabling more precise monitoring, better determination of prognosis, and individualized treatment of disease."

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