Researchers have identified specific blood-based genomic biomarkers that distinguish inflammatory breast cancer from other subtypes, providing a new and less invasive method for early diagnosis, disease progression monitoring and treatment development for patients with this aggressive disease. The study used an improved method of RNA sequencing, called TGIRT sequencing, that allows for a more comprehensive overview of all RNA types and amounts present in a given sample. The research was led by Savitri Krishnamurthy, M.D., professor of Anatomic Pathology.
“These findings provide new insights into inflammatory breast cancer that should enable clinicians to monitor disease progression simply through liquid biopsy,” Krishnamurthy said. “Because it is so difficult to obtain tumor samples, these blood-based biomarkers could be truly transformative in developing treatments for this patient population.”