Liquid Biopsy Evaluation and Repository Development at Princess Margaret

Liquid Biopsy Evaluation and Repository Development at Princess Margaret

The objective of this protocol is to develop an institution-wide liquid biopsy protocol that will establish a common process for collecting blood and corresponding archived tumor specimens for future research studies at the University Health Network's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Circulating cell-free nucleic acids (cfNA), including cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and cell-free RNA (cfRNA), are non-invasive, real-time biomarkers that can provide diagnostic and prognostic information before cancer diagnosis, during cancer treatment, and at disease progression. Cancer research scientists and clinicians at the Princess Margaret are interested in incorporating the collection of peripheral blood samples ("liquid biopsies") into research protocols as a means of non-invasively assessing tumor progression and response to treatment at multiple time points during a patient's course of disease.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with either histological confirmation of a solid tumor or hematological malignancy, OR patients identified as high-risk for cancer (based on identified aberration in cancer predisposition gene or on hormonal and/or family history without known aberration).
2. Patient must be ≥ 18 years old.
3. All patients must have signed and dated an informed consent form for this LIBERATE study.
4. If patients are being co-consented for a separate primary research study listed in Appendix I, they must fulfill the eligibility criteria for that separate primary research study. If there is a discrepancy in the eligibility criteria between protocols, the separate primary research study's criteria take precedence.

Exclusion Criteria:

None