What is Signatera?
Signatera is a personalized assay created in a lab using tissue from your cancer and optimized to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in your blood. Fragments of the cancer’s DNA can be found by running a sample of your blood through the assay which detects molecular residual disease (MRD), thereby offering broad utility for cancer management. The most common uses are as follows: (1) to monitor for recurrence/MRD after cancer treatment, (2) to help decide whether or not to pursue additional treatment such as chemotherapy, and (3) to help monitor response to ongoing therapies, whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or stage IV cancer treatments.
Signatera is a cancer surveillance test uniquely personalized for each patient. This custom-designed test uses your cancer cells (obtained from the pathology slides) to determine a unique set of tumor mutations that belong to your cancer. A blood sample from you is then taken and analyzed for the presence of any of these mutations. If present (a “positive” result), this information allows you to know earlier that your cancer is likely to recur or has progressed during treatment. These results, positive or negative, can help you have a more informed discussion with your doctor on how to continue to treat your cancer.