UC researchers study ‘liquid biopsy’

Matthew Garrett, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery, UC Health neurosurgeon and a member of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute, is studying a unique procedure, called a liquid biopsy, for what may appear to be a recurrent brain tumor on a scan.

“Primary brain cancers, often called gliomas, are among the most difficult cancers to treat,” he says. “In the majority of cases, the visible tumor is removed and the remaining hidden cancer cells are treated with radiation and chemotherapy. It is known that one day the cancer will grow back, and thus, patients undergo MRI scans every few months to look for tumor regrowth.” However, this is where things get tricky. 

To determine how reliable this technology is, Garrett is working with colleagues Soma Sengupta, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology at UC, UC Health neuro-oncologist and co-director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute’s Brain Tumor Center, and Trish Wise-Draper, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at UC, UC Health oncologist and member of the UC Cancer Center. 

Currently, they are recruiting patients who have been newly diagnosed with glioblastoma to volunteer for the study. During the initial tumor removal surgery, a small amount of spinal fluid (usually discarded during surgery) is saved and analyzed for cancer DNA. Over the following months and years, participants will be given the opportunity to donate additional samples of spinal fluid so the amount of cancer DNA can be measured.

“This is a fairly novel idea, and the trial here is investigator-initiated, meaning it is only being offered at UC,” Garrett says. “We hope that these results lead to a better method of determining recurrent cancer in earlier stages for patients and eliminate the need for invasive surgery.”

If you’re interested in enrolling, please contact Jasmine Parker.

Featured photo of spine courtesy of Meta Zahren/Unsplash.