Caris liquid biopsy lab offers option to traditional biopsies

More from this show

Caris Life Sciences, a cancer diagnostic research firm, has developed a new form of biposy that is non-invasive.

We spoke about this with David Spetzler, Ph.D., the President and Chief Scientific Officer of Caris Life Sciences.

“So what we do is we take some blood and we look for the fragments that are coming from these cancer cells to identify whether a cancer exists within somebody or not. In that way we can identify the type of cancer and if somebody has cancer far earlier than existing technology today,” Spetzler said.

Caris believes that understanding cancer at the molecular level can lead to better treatment options. 

“You can see if the therapy that you are taking is working or not and if it’s having a desired effect. Is there an evolution of the cancer? Is it coming back now and you want to switch therapies? it gives us a window into whats happening in the human body,” Spetzler said.

This liquid biopsy lab will further expand the company’s molecular profiling capabilities. That includes tumor profiling and innovative blood-based cancer diagnostics.

The state-of-the-art lab can provide profiling on blood specimens for up to 1,500 patients per day.

Caris is known for developing methods of profiling specific molecules and protein biomarkers to help physicians more directly treat cancer patients. The company uses new AI and machine learning to identify cancer signals at the molecular level and predict patient response.

“The technology being so new, there’s also a lot of skepticism out there and that’s not unhealthy. Anytime theres a scientific breakthrough we need to make sure that we’re doing a good job og validating completely and throughly,” Spetzler said.

For more information, click here.

David Spetzler, M.S., Ph.D., MBA/Pres. & Chief Scientific Officer, Caris Life Sciences

Hispanic Heritage Awards image
airs Sept. 29

Hispanic Heritage Awards

Tito Munoz conducting the Phoenix Symphony
aired Sept. 25

Opening Night: A Romantic Evening

A ferris wheel at a state fair in the evening

See Fairytales on Ice: Beauty and the Beast at the Arizona State Fair

A green monster with a goofy grin holds a large toothbrush. Text: HealthySmileLearning.org Video Contest: How does your favorite monster brush its teeth?
Oct. 8

Digital Video Contest 2023

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters

STAY in touch
with azpbs.org!

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters: