Liquid biopsy is rapidly transforming how cancer is detected, monitored, and treated. While major progress has been made in identifying tumour-derived signals in blood, the central challenge now is translating these advances into robust, clinically deployable tools that improve patient outcomes.
This three-part on-demand webinar series moves beyond the hype to focus on what it takes to bring liquid biopsy into routine clinical practice. Across the series, we will explore how assays are engineered to detect rare tumour signals, how emerging biomarker strategies are reshaping performance, and how these technologies are being validated and implemented in clinical trials and healthcare systems.
Please note, by registering for one webinar in the series, you will automatically gain access to the subsequent webinars.
Webinar 1: Designing Liquid Biopsy Assays for Real-World Use
Sponsored by Twist Bioscience
As liquid biopsy applications expand into earlier cancer detection and increasingly challenging clinical settings, assay performance has never been more critical. This session will explore how researchers and technology developers are improving assay sensitivity through advances in sequencing strategies, target enrichment and workflow optimisation. It will also examine how assay design decisions impact reproducibility, scalability and suitability for downstream use in translational research and clinical studies.
Key Takeaways
- How assay design, sequencing strategy, and bioinformatics impact sensitivity
- Methods for capturing and enriching low-frequency tumour signals
- How design choices affect scalability and reproducibility in real-world settings
Talk 1: Implementing Liquid Biopsy in Paediatric Oncology: Balancing Breadth, Cost, and Clinical Utility
Alexandre Rouette, Clinical Specialist, CHU Sainte-Justine Children’s Hospital
Talk 2: Customizable Genomic Profiling of Cell-Free DNA for Oncology
James Flynn, Senior Staff Product Manager, Twist Bioscience
Talk 3: Evaluating Whole Blood as an Alternative to Plasma for Liquid Biopsy Applications
Maria Neofytou, Lecturer, University of Westminster
Webinar 2: Beyond ctDNA – Evaluating the Next Generation of Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers
Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific
This webinar will bring together academic, clinical and industry perspectives to examine whether next-generation liquid biopsy approaches are truly delivering on their promise. As new biomarker strategies such as fragmentomics, methylation and multi-modal assays rapidly emerge, which approaches are showing the greatest clinical value—and which still require further validation?
Through real-world case studies and expert discussion, attendees will gain practical insight into the strengths, limitations and trade-offs of different biomarker strategies, including sensitivity, specificity, scalability and clinical utility, and what these advances could mean for the future of cancer detection and patient management.
Key Takeaways
- How emerging biomarkers are being applied in liquid biopsy
- The strengths and limitations of multi-analyte approaches
- How novel biomarker strategies are being evaluated in translational and clinical studies
Talk 1: Rethinking Liquid Biopsy: From Targeted Panels to Multimodal Detection
Ariane Hallermayr, Head of Research and Development, Medical Genetics Centre
Talk 2: Expanding the Role of CTCs and Immune Cells in Cancer Detection and Monitoring
Catherine Alix-Panabières, Professor of Oncology and Director, Laboratory of Rare Human Circulating Cells, University of Montpellier
Talk 3: Enhancing Signal Detection in Multi-Omic Spatial Analysis for Early Cancer Insights
Dineika Chandrananda, Senior Bioinformatics Research Officer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Webinar 3: From Trials to Routine Care – Making Liquid Biopsy Work in Practice
To realise the full potential of liquid biopsy, these technologies must be successfully integrated into clinical trials and healthcare systems. This requires evidence of clinical utility, clear regulatory pathways and practical strategies for implementation at scale.
This interactive panel will bring together experts from academia, healthcare and industry to discuss what it will take for liquid biopsy to move beyond promising research and become part of routine cancer care. Panellists will explore how liquid biopsy assays are informing clinical trial design, what evidence is needed to demonstrate clinical utility, and the practical challenges of implementing these technologies at scale.
Through a moderated discussion, the panel will debate whether current evidence is sufficient for wider adoption, examine lessons from multi-cancer early detection and other clinical studies, and consider how emerging approaches, including multi-modal liquid biopsy, could shape the future of precision oncology.
Key Takeaways
- How liquid biopsy is being integrated into clinical trial design and execution
- Key barriers to clinical validation and regulatory adoption
- How liquid biopsy may be implemented in routine healthcare systems
- The potential of fragmentomics and multi-modal approaches in future applications
Panellists
- Daniel Stetson, Director of Translational Genomics, AstraZeneca
- Magda Meissner, Clinical Liquid Biopsy Lead, All Wales Medical Genomics Services
- Florent Mouliere, Team Lead, National Biomarker Centre, CRUK Manchester Institute
