Breast Cancer Survivors Have a New Tool to Help Answer Whether Their Cancer is Coming Back

News provided by

Jul 20, 2022, 08:11 ET

Learn Look Locate partners with Natera to guide patients to important blood test – Signatera™ – to help survivors answer important recurrence concerns

TUCSON, Ariz., July 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing campaign to work with companies and educate patients on new treatments, Learn Look Locate (LLL) recently announced an innovative and new tool for helping breast cancer survivors assess recurrence of the disease. Custom designed for each patient, Signatera detects small amounts of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood and is readout in a report to help guide doctors and patients on next steps. Signatera should be used concurrently with scans and other blood tests, although it has been shown that Signatera can help determine relapse earlier than standard tools.¹ Signatera was created by Natera, a global leader in cell-free DNA testing.

"One of the most important goals of Learn Look Locate is to let patients know exactly what to ask for when they see their oncologist," said Cynthia Jordan, Founder of LLL. "I'm really proud and honored to partner with Natera to inform the community about Signatera. It's an addition to a growing range of tools and resources that will help breast cancer survivors manage their own continuum of aftercare. And this is something that LLL continues to do: bringing new advances in breast cancer treatment to a wider public, through both our website and our growing social media following."

LLL is a doctor monitored and curated platform dedicated to providing critical information to breast cancer patients and survivors – information that is often not widely available through traditional channels. Going several steps further than other breast cancer information and resource sites though, LLL engages new patients and their family members on social media – often hosting oncologists and cancer researchers who go on-platform to answer questions in a live and personal way.

Signatera™ – Transforming the Management of Cancer with Personalized Testing

"The future of cancer surveillance is circulating tumor DNA testing and other similar 'liquid biopsies,'" said Dr. Barry Rosen, MD FACS, Senior Medical Advisor for LLL. "We now have a blood test that can identify minute traces of a patient's breast cancer before it would be evident on traditional imaging. This revolutionizes systemic surveillance and will hopefully lead to better outcomes for those who unfortunately relapse."

Early detection of recurrence is one of the most promising tools for managing and improving cancer outcomes. Useful for a wide range of cancers, ctDNA is one of the most reliable new ways to help patients detect recurrent disease early before symptoms develop.

Early detection of recurrent cancer may be detected by measuring ctDNA – a type of cell-free DNA that comes from tumor cells and can be detected and measured in the body's circulatory system.
Accurately identifying ctDNA in the body may indicate that cancer cells are present, even after treatment.
Different from traditional uses of ctDNA, Signatera uses a personalized test, informed by the patient's own tumor mutation signature.

Stay up to date on the latest news by following LLL on social media @learnlooklocate – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest.

About Learn Look Locate (LLL)

Founded in 2019 by breast cancer survivor, Cynthia Jordan, LLL represents a global movement for breast cancer support and education. As part of her founding mission to diagnose breast cancer early and save lives, LLL provides answers to the most important questions patients have: What do I need to know? Who are my resources? Where do I turn now?

LLL focuses on early detection and early diagnosis, aggregating the latest technology and research, the most cutting-edge breast cancer treatments, and information from globally recognized doctors/specialists.

Learn the best, most critical next steps by joining the conversation at: www.LearnLookLocate.com.

Media Contact:

Cynthia Jordan
1-407-592-4474
[email protected]

References:

Reinert T, Henriksen TV, Christensen E, et al. Analysis of plasma cell-free DNA by ultradeep sequencing in patients with stages I to III colorectal cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2019;5(8):1124–1131.

SOURCE Learn Look Locate