Liver cancer patients may soon be able to check if their disease has returned with a simple blood test that detects tumour-specific DNA changes in the bloodstream, as part of a new 麻豆直播-led research project.
Led by from the (Curtin MRI), the LIVER-Trace project was awarded almost $500,000 in funding from the Innovation Seed Fund 2024-25 program, supported by the Western Australian Government鈥檚 Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.
Liver cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths each year and has a high risk of returning in patients even after effective treatments.
Post-treatment liver cancer monitoring relies on imaging techniques such as MRI and CT scans, which can be expensive, may miss small tumours and are often inaccessible for patients in remote areas.
Dr Carlessi said the test represents a precision health innovation, using cutting-edge technologies to improve disease monitoring so it鈥檚 more effective and accessible.
鈥淥ur study will evaluate the ability of this test to detect liver cancer recurrence more accurately than current methods, while also being more readily available to people living in rural and regional areas,鈥� Dr Carlessi said.
鈥淚f successful, this technology will allow health professionals to detect recurring cancer earlier, which will see earlier interventions resulting in better outcomes for patients and higher survival rates.鈥�
Developed as a project, the test only requires a small volume of plasma, making it suitable for frequent use even in remote, resource-limited settings.
鈥淭he simplicity and scalability of this innovation makes it highly suitable for addressing similar healthcare challenges at a national and international level,鈥� Dr Carlessi said.
鈥淚t offers a promising solution for liver cancer patients globally, particularly those in areas where healthcare resources are scarce.
鈥淭he next step is to assess the test鈥檚 effectiveness in a larger group of patients. This funding will allow us to demonstrate LIVER-Trace鈥檚 real-world clinical value and readiness for further scale-up over the next 24 months.鈥�
The research team has completed a pilot study, in which LIVER-Trace detected residual circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) after surgery, even in cases where MRI results indicated no remaining disease and successfully detected recurrence in cases with and without radiological confirmation.
麻豆直播 Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research congratulated the team on receiving important funding to improve research into recurring liver cancer.
鈥淟iver cancer remains a leading cause of death around the world and projects such as LIVER-Trace puts Curtin at the forefront of the global fight against the disease,鈥� Professor Fitzgerald said.
Further information on the FHRI Fund can be found .
