L2M NSERC - A liquid biopsy blood test for breast cancer detection

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The key to treating cancer patients effectively largely depends on accurate and timely diagnosis; a process that can yield important clues about the stage of cancer, the tumour's molecular signature, where it is likely to spread, and the prognosis for the patient. The current gold standard methods used to diagnose cancers are based on image analysis, followed by surgical biopsies - a highly invasive form of molecular testing. For patients, this process is often painful, distressing, and does not guarantee accurate results. For more than a decade, emerging non-invasive techniques to analyze tumour material are fundamentally changing the future of cancer care. Liquid biopsies assess analytes in the bloodstream, such as circulating tumour cells (CTCs) or components of CTCs such as circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Liquid biopsies are increasingly recognized as having value for cancer diagnosis and clinical management of many cancers. In addition, they are far superior to the alternative - tissue biopsies, where tissue samples are not always representative of the overall tumour heterogeneity. Furthermore, they provide more accurate information about cancer progression, are more economical and affordable, and do not require a team of specialists (i.e., surgeons). Here, we present mDETECT, a second-generation liquid biopsy specifically aimed to provide clinical management of all subtypes of metastatic breast cancer. The superiority of mDETECT's technology over other liquid biopsies is it encompasses sequencing of patent-protected methylation regions across ctDNA with high precision and sensitivity and can be used in almost all patient populations. The objective of this proposal is to assess the use of mDETECT in conjunction with or in lieu of traditional gold standards of assessing cancer therapy effectiveness. We are looking to analyze the feasibility of marketing mDETECT and gauging the interest of health care providers and insurance bodies.