Liquid Biopsy in Neurosurgery: Building a Platform for Blood Tests to Predict Brain Tumor Behavior and Guide Clinical Management

Grant Application

Primary Investigator: Sakibul Huq, MD
Co-Investigator: Costas Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD

Proposed Innovation

Brain tumors are among the most dreaded and deadly cancers. Currently, the only way to accurately diagnose and risk stratify these tumors is to perform open brain surgery to obtain tissue that is then sent for histologic and molecular analysis. This is an invasive procedure with a risk of complications.

This project — a form of precision medicine — is exploring the use of a liquid biopsy, or blood test, to diagnose and guide treatment of brain tumors. The team will analyze circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients’ blood at multiple time points throughout their disease course. The ctDNA analysis will be correlated with patient clinical outcomes related to diagnosis, risk stratification, therapy selection, and disease monitoring.

Improvements in Action

Researchers believe analysis of ctDNA from the blood of patients with brain tumors will reliably predict tumor behavior and serve as a biomarker to guide treatment. Funds will be used to build a platform to test this hypothesis in multiple types of brain tumors.

Patients with brain tumors will be enrolled during preoperative clinic visits. Blood samples will be taken at the same time as other routine care — at the patient’s pre-op visit, during inpatient stays following surgery, and during routine clinic follow-up appointments over a several month period. Tumor samples also will be collected from the operating room. Cutting-edge science and technology will be used to extract, sequence, and analyze the ctDNA and tumor DNA.

Intended Outcomes

This project is expected to demonstrate that simple, noninvasive blood tests obtained during routine clinical visits can provide the comprehensive information needed to diagnose brain tumors and formulate effective treatment plans.