Advancing personalized approaches in cancer therapy, aiding identification and adaptation of multi-modal treatment strategies for improved outcomes depends on clinical implementation of novel diagnostic technologies. For most cancer types the risk-features used to select individuals for post-operative adjuvant multimodal therapy are suboptimal, where many patients are overtreated and others undertreated. Liquid biopsy has opened a new diagnostic avenue to detect and monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) in individual cancer patients, especially for selecting patients for multi-modal therapies post-operatively. However, despite many circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) diagnostics being developed there is a lack of standardization, harmonization, and robust data to demonstrate clinical validity. GUIDE.MRD is a consortium of leading academics, technology companies, pharmaceutical companies, and experts in multi-stakeholder engagements. Together, we will tackle the critical questions by developing reference standards for ctDNA diagnostics, clinically validate promising ctDNA diagnostics and develop data to guide the use of multi-modal therapies with a non-invasive diagnostic test. With robust engagement with regulatory authorities, payers and importantly patients themselves, we will develop recommendations and guidelines based on objective data to use ctDNA diagnostics to guide multi-modal therapy selection to improve patient outcomes.

The public-private partnership, READI, seeks to help clinical studies (CS) to finally serve the complete general population, and therefore more patients. To date CS have struggled to recruit and retain participants from diverse backgrounds and communities, such as marginalized or disadvantaged groups (e.g., sexual, gender, age, cultural, and socioeconomic cohorts). The resulting knowledge gaps entrench or increase health disparities. The READI consortium strives to tackle these challenges by fostering a more cohesive and integrated CS ecosystem for underserved (US) and underrepresented (UR) communities. It will actively connect all key stakeholders who can facilitate access to a wide range of patient populations. It will provide these stakeholders with the necessary tools, training programs, and approaches essential for the recruitment and retention of US/UR patients in CS. In addition, it will design, build and implement a digital platform which is patient-centred, sustainable, open and innovative. This will foster improved access to CS information and READI tools, while also supporting patient connections with the created communities. Finally, at least 4 CS will be used for testing the effectiveness of the developed tools and approaches. READI has a three-fold objective: to help US/UR communities overcome CS participation barriers (e.g., lack of information/awareness, mistrust, poor communication, geographic limitations, prejudice), which in turn will improve research of many diseases and conditions, preventative care and treatment effectiveness in different demographic groups, and better serve society. READI’s success will draw from its interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, consortium composition of 73 organizations from 18 countries, with key expertise in drug development and CS (design and operations), engagement strategies for US/UR populations, digital platform development, training and capability building initiatives, effective communication and dissemination, long-term sustainability, ethics and regulatory affairs.