On December 11, 2025 Personalis, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSNL), a leader in advanced genomics for precision oncology, reported the publication of one of the largest and most comprehensive patient cohorts to date from the landmark TRACERx study, in the journal Cell. The study, titled "Longitudinal ultrasensitive ctDNA monitoring for high-resolution lung cancer risk prediction," demonstrates the clinical importance of ultrasensitive, tumor-informed molecular residual disease (MRD) testing in stage I to III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
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The study, led by Professor Charles Swanton at the Francis Crick Institute and University College London (UCL) in collaboration with Personalis, analyzed 431 NSCLC patients tracked for a median of > 5 years using the NeXT Personal test. It demonstrated that the NeXT Personal test allows for highly sensitive detection of small traces of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in blood samples from lung cancer diagnosis through to surveillance, even in hard-to-detect subtypes.
Key Findings:
Comprehensive Cancer Detection From Diagnosis Through Surveillance: NeXT Personal demonstrated exceptional sensitivity and specificity for detecting residual and recurrent cancer throughout the patient course at diagnosis (pre-surgery), post-surgical (landmark), during adjuvant, and during long-term surveillance monitoring, with many of the detections (~36-43%) in the ultrasensitive range.
Cancer Detection Ahead of Imaging: Cancer was detected a median of ~5 to ~9 months and up to ~57 months ahead of standard of care imaging post-surgery and during surveillance.
Ultrasensitive Detection and Risk Stratification: The study demonstrated NeXT Personal detection of ctDNA pre-treatment, post-surgery, and during surveillance was associated with higher risk of relapse and worse overall survival. The study also identified an intermediate risk patient subgroup with ultrasensitive ctDNA detections that can benefit from close clinical follow-up.
Therapy Monitoring: Patients who did not clear their ctDNA during adjuvant chemotherapy were > 5 times more likely to relapse than those who cleared their ctDNA.
The study utilized Personalis’ NeXT Personal technology, which leverages whole-genome sequencing and proprietary noise suppression to detect ctDNA at levels down to ~1 PPM. The Cell publication highlights that a significant portion of relapsing patients presented with ctDNA levels in the ultrasensitive range, detections which can be missed with less sensitive tests.
"This latest TRACERx study underscores the critical role of ultrasensitive ctDNA monitoring in early-stage lung cancer," said Professor Charles Swanton, Director of the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and Chief Clinician at Cancer Research UK. "The ability to detect residual disease at extremely low levels allows us to detect traces of cancer earlier after surgical resection in the adjuvant setting and more effectively identify patients at risk for relapse. It also allows us to see how patients are responding to adjuvant therapy with more accuracy, paving the way for more personalized, data-driven treatment strategies."
Richard Chen, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Executive VP of R&D at Personalis, added: "This publication in Cell confirms that NeXT Personal’s high test-sensitivity and specificity are not just technical specifications, they are key to unlocking clinical utility. By pioneering ultrasensitive MRD testing, we are leading the way in enabling the next generation of cancer care and giving physicians the tools they need to better guide treatment decisions throughout the patient journey."
This publication joins a list of other leading publications this year in Nature Medicine and Annals of Oncology for NeXT Personal, showing the importance of ultrasensitive MRD testing in lung cancer and other cancer types.
(Press release, Personalis, DEC 11, 2025, View Source [SID1234661387])