In Largest Molecular Residual Disease (MRD) Study in Colon Cancer, Guardant Reveal Testing Prior to Chemotherapy Provides Robust Stratification for Risk of Disease Recurrence and Survival to Enable Timely Treatment Decisions

Business Wire

31-05-2025

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), a leading precision oncology company, and its research collaborators today presented results of the largest study to date evaluating circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in colon cancer prior to chemotherapy, demonstrating the ability of the Guardant Reveal™ test to stratify the risk of disease recurrence and overall survival, and thus inform treatment decisions after surgery. Data from the phase III trial of FOLFOX-based adjuvant chemotherapy (NCCTG N0147) involving over 2,000 patients with stage III colon cancer with median follow-up of 6.1 years were presented at the 2025 American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
Results demonstrated that circulating tumor DNA detected in the bloodstream after cancer surgery and prior to the start of adjuvant therapy, using the Guardant Reveal test, is a strong predictor of the risk of disease recurrence and poorer survival, and suggest the potential for ctDNA testing to improve decision-making at a critical time point for post-operative chemotherapy. Specifically:
Among patients with post-surgical ctDNA detected, 62.6% had the cancer return within 3 years, despite having had adjuvant chemotherapy, while only 15.4% of patients with undetectable ctDNA recurred in the same period.
The level of ctDNA, or tumor fraction, showed promise in identifying individuals who are less likely to clear residual disease with adjuvant treatment.
'Thirty percent of patients with stage III colon cancer will relapse after surgery, despite having standard adjuvant chemotherapy,' said Frank Sinicrope, MD, professor of oncology and medicine at Mayo Clinic and principal investigator for the study. 'In this study, we demonstrate that analysis of postsurgical ctDNA can improve the prediction of disease recurrence over standard staging criteria, which may help guide patient management and follow-up. These data further support the routine use of ctDNA in management of stage III colon cancer patients.'
'With the Guardant Reveal test, a simple blood draw can be used to identify colorectal cancer patients who have molecular residual disease and are most likely to benefit from adjuvant therapy,' said Helmy Eltoukhy, Guardant Health chairman and co-CEO. 'This large study confirms the test's ability to identify high risk of cancer returning and support oncologists in making more informed therapeutic decisions to help improve patient outcomes.'
The full abstract for the presentation can be found on the ASCO website.
About Guardant Reveal
Guardant Reveal, which runs on the Guardant Infinity™ smart liquid biopsy platform, is a blood test that uses epigenomic (methylation) analysis to detect circulating tumor DNA, a marker of minimal residual disease, to predict cancer recurrence, helping to guide clinical decisions after surgery or chemotherapy. The test is covered by Medicare for patients with colorectal cancer in the early post-surgical setting and for surveillance testing to monitor for disease recurrence after curative intent treatment.
About Molecular Residual Disease
Molecular residual disease refers to a subclinical measure of cancer burden that remains during and following treatment. A patient's MRD status is a reliable indicator of clinical outcome and response to therapy and can be used for risk stratification and to guide treatment options when used in conjunction with other clinical data.
About Guardant Health
Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on guarding wellness and giving every person more time free from cancer. Founded in 2012, Guardant is transforming patient care and accelerating new cancer therapies by providing critical insights into what drives disease through its advanced blood and tissue tests, real-world data and AI analytics. Guardant tests help improve outcomes across all stages of care, including screening to find cancer early, monitoring for recurrence in early-stage cancer, and treatment selection for patients with advanced cancer. For more information, visit guardanthealth.com and follow the company on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook.
Forward-Looking Statements
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