SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, September 15, 2026 — Lucence and collaborators from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami presented new real-world data at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), showing that combining circulating tumor RNA (ctRNA) with circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) increased detection of actionable rearrangements in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The study analyzed 625 plasma samples from 602 patients with NSCLC tested using Lucence’s LiquidHALLMARK® combined ctDNA + ctRNA liquid biopsy assay. The analysis evaluated whether incorporating ctRNA could improve detection of actionable alterations compared with ctDNA alone.

The results showed a 38.7% relative increase in actionable rearrangement detection with the addition of ctRNA. Twelve rearrangements were uniquely identified by ctRNA, including additional ALK, ROS1, RET, MET, FGFR and NRG1 alterations.

Notably, ROS1 rearrangement detection doubled, from 3 with ctDNA alone to 6 with combined ctDNA + ctRNA. RET rearrangement detection increased from 7 with ctDNA alone to 12 with the combined approach. 

Overall, 38.5% of patients had at least one actionable alteration, while 7.1% had an actionable fusion or MET exon 14 skipping alteration. The findings demonstrate how incorporating ctRNA alongside ctDNA can expand the identification of patients with actionable alterations that may inform targeted therapy selection.

Enhanced Detection of Actionable Fusions in NSCLC Using Combined ctDNA and ctRNA Analysis

The findings were presented at WCLC 2026 in Seoul by Dr. Chinmay Jani, with Dr. Gilberto Lopes and collaborators from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Lucence.

For NSCLC, where actionable rearrangements can play an important role in treatment selection, the findings add to growing evidence that combining ctDNA and ctRNA can provide a more comprehensive approach to liquid biopsy and enhance detection of clinically relevant alterations.