Making liquidbiopsy a reality in the era of clinicaloncologyat Gulf Medical University

Thisis a new paradigm in cancer diagnosis and management in UAE.

LiquidBiopsyis a blood test thatdetects changes in normal DNA sequence shed by cancer cells in the blood. It can beused to predict cancer relapse wellahead of time evenbeforetumors are seen on scans. This test couldeasily help clinicians and patient stay a stepahead of cancer by monitoring the changes and thusreactively picking treatmentsthat fit attacking a particulartumor.

Whenconducted over a period of time, the blood test is capable of tracking the geneticchanges or mutational changes thatoccur over a period of time and predictaccuratelyif the cancer is about to return. The test is not only non invasive but also can bedonerepeatedly to capture the mutations accumulated over a period of time and accuratelypredictsmetastatic relapse in patients whichthenallows for a betterdecision in treatment. It allows for a personalisedtreatment.

The LiquidBioposyLabis an outcome of Translational Cancer Research at the Gulf Medical University researchersled by Prof. Salem Chouaib, the wellknowninternationally in the field of cancer immunology – leading the Thumbay Research Institute for PrecisionMedicine.

Prof. Salem indicatedthatthis new achievementis due to the support for researchprovided by GMU and the Thumbay Hospitals. It is a reflection of the colloboration in UAE betweenresearchers and hospitalswho have contributed to thisachievement. Sheikh Khalifa Hospital Ras Al Khaimahis one of our main colloborator in thisdomain.

We are ready to colloboratewith all the cancer centers in UAE and the Gulf region in order to use ourLiquidBioposyLaband to makeit a Center of Excellence in Cancer Genomic and Immuno-oncology in UAE.