Abstract
To address what it considers a lag in the development of diagnostics for more precise cancer monitoring, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard announced it will open the Gertsner Center for Cancer Diagnostics, funded by a $15 million commitment by Louis V. Gertsner, Jr., the former CEO and chairman of the board of IBM.
The new research center will focus on blood-based biopsies that can be used to track disease progression and other cancer diagnostic methods and technologies. The initial focus on blood-based biopsies to develop diagnostics follows a fast-growing trend in the field for these tests to monitor disease progression and therapeutic efficacy. Advanced liquid biopsy tests for cancer monitoring have the advantage of eliminating the need for invasive solid tissue biopsies or, when a tissue biopsy is not possible, expensive imaging tests such as CT or MRI.