On June 30, 2026 Genomic Testing Cooperative (GTC), a molecular diagnostics company advancing comprehensive DNA and RNA-based cancer testing, reported the growing clinical importance of its Liquid Trace cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-based molecular profiling following the recent update to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines for Central Nervous System Cancers.

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"The NCCN update reinforces what many leading clinicians and researchers have recognized: CSF can be an essential source of molecular information for patients with central nervous system tumors," said Maher Albitar, MD, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Genomic Testing Cooperative. "For these patients, partial information is not enough. A comprehensive CSF-based approach that includes both cell-free DNA and RNA analysis has the potential to provide a more complete view of the tumor and help physicians make more informed care decisions."

GTC’s Liquid Trace CSF testing is designed to address this clinical need with a comprehensive approach that evaluates both cell-free DNA and RNA. By integrating cfDNA and RNA analysis, GTC’s testing may help clinicians identify molecular abnormalities, support diagnosis, evaluate the primary tumor, assess disease biology and better inform treatment planning when tissue is unavailable or insufficient.

The NCCN update expands recommendations for next-generation sequencing to include CSF-based molecular tumor profiling for patients with inoperable high-grade gliomas and glioblastomas when tissue biopsy is not feasible due to tumor location, patient health, surgical risk or patient preference.

For patients with central nervous system cancers, this change represents an important step forward. Tissue biopsy is not always possible, and blood-based testing may not provide adequate molecular information for tumors confined to the brain, spine or cerebrospinal fluid. In those settings, CSF can provide a more informative liquid biopsy sample because it directly bathes the central nervous system and may contain tumor-derived molecular material not readily detected by cytopathology.

GTC’s Liquid Trace CSF testing is optimized for primary and metastatic central nervous system neoplasms and is designed to support diagnosis, genomic profiling, measurable residual disease monitoring, therapy selection and clinical trial matching. The assay is part of GTC’s broader cooperative model, which combines advanced next-generation sequencing, machine learning and collaboration with leading academic and clinical partners to advance precision oncology.

"We look forward to continuing to demonstrate the clinical utility of CSF testing in additional and expanded disease states, especially where CSF may be more informative than tissue or blood," Dr. Albitar said. "This is an important moment for the field because it recognizes that patients with inoperable CNS tumors still need access to high-quality molecular information that can help guide care."

The guideline update comes as GTC continues to work with academic collaborators and technology partners to demonstrate the clinical utility of CSF testing across an expanded range of disease states.

Utilized by top cancer programs and academic medical centers nationwide, GTC’s CSF-based testing stands as the sole commercially available option with Medicare coverage (for DNA analysis).

The NCCN update adds inoperable high-grade gliomas and glioblastomas to a growing list of central nervous system cancers for which CSF-based molecular testing is increasingly recognized as clinically important, including leptomeningeal and parenchymal metastases, primary CNS tumors and CNS lymphomas.

"Cancer is complex, and the central nervous system presents some of the most difficult diagnostic challenges in oncology," Albitar added. "When tissue is not feasible, physicians and patients still deserve access to comprehensive molecular answers. That is exactly the problem GTC is working to solve."

(Press release, Genomic Testing Cooperative, JUN 30, 2026, View Source [SID1234669008])