New Cancer Buzz Podcast Episode Analyzes Liquid Biopsy Impact on Early Diagnosis, Health Equity, New Screenings

Rockville, MD - A new CANCER BUZZ podcast episode reveals the benefits of liquid biopsies for both cancer care teams and patients, including advancing health equity, early diagnosis, and enhanced biologic understanding of tumor mutations.

In the latest episode, podcast guest Stephen Quake, PhD, Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at Stanford University and Co-President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network, shares the body of knowledge behind this expanding technology. Quake’s research in biology, physics, and technology development led to the creation of diagnostic tools that were later adopted for liquid biopsies. During the interview, he looks ahead at the clinical benefits of liquid biopsies.

“I think in the earliest days of liquid biopsy, people were focused on trying to detect mutations that were associated with the tumor and there’s beautiful academic literature around that, and a few tests started to trickle out,” said Quake. “But as the field has evolved, in part due to my own research, we've discovered more sophisticated ways to measure what's going on in your body with tumors. And in particular to measure the biology of how cell types are changing identity and dedifferentiating. There's been a move from mutations towards epigenetic measurements, in particular for hydroxymethylation, which really reflects dynamic tumor biology.” Labs from around the world have contributed to this work, such as  Bluestar Genomics, which is developing new cancer screens for diseases that don’t currently have ones like pancreatic and ovarian cancer.

For liquid biopsies currently available, Quake explained the role in reducing health disparities due to lower costs and greater accessibility.

“We're in the midst of a very exciting time right now. There are some tests available now with limited performance, and there's going to be more coming out over the next year or two.  I think we're all still learning how good these tests can be and how to best use them, but they're starting to get in the hands of patients through clinical trials and other approaches,” said Quake.

This podcast episode is part of a suite of tools created by the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) that aim to provide educational and professional resources for cancer care professionals in the areas of precision medicine and health technology. This includes ACCC’s new Precision Medicine Library, which offers on-demand webinars, abstracts, and digital tools for biomarker and MRD testing, immuno-oncology, and CAR-T cell therapies.

ACCC President Dr. David Penberthy, MD, MBA, has also identified the use of technology solutions,like liquid biopsies, as a key component of his 2022-2023  President’s theme, “Leveraging Technology to Transform Cancer Care Delivery and the Patient Experience.”

CANCER BUZZ is an award-winning audio podcast series that dives into emergent issues in oncology, including health equity, COVID-19 care modifications, precision medicine and novel treatments, telehealth, financial navigation, payment models, supportive care services, geriatric care, and more. Each episode is designed to deliver timely information to busy cancer care providers quickly and in a mobile format. CANCER BUZZ is available on all major streaming audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify and smart speakers simply by asking Alexa to “play the latest CANCER BUZZ podcast.”

About Dr. Stephen Quake

Stephen Quake is the Lee Otterson Professor of Bioengineering and Professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University and is Co-President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a non-profit medical research organization. Quake’s research (Quake Lab) explores the nexus of biology, physics and technology development. He is credited for developing numerous measurement tools for biology including new DNA sequencing technologies that have enabled rapid analysis of the human genome, and microfluidic automation that allows scientists to efficiently isolate individual cells and decipher their genetic code.

Quake is also well known for his work inventing new diagnostic tools, including the first noninvasive prenatal test for Down syndrome and other aneuploidies. His test is rapidly replacing risky invasive approaches such as amniocentesis, and millions of women each year now benefit from this approach. His innovations have helped to radically accelerate the pace of biology and have made medicine safer by replacing invasive biopsies with simple blood tests. For the latest news on his research and scientific developments, follow Dr. Quake on Twitter.