FOSTER CITY, Calif., May 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Adela, Inc., an innovator in blood testing for molecular residual disease (MRD) monitoring and early cancer detection through a proprietary genome-wide methylome enrichment technology, is presenting results of two studies demonstrating the ability of its MRD test to predict progression and identify non-responders to immunotherapy at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting from May 30 – June 3, 2025.

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“In patients with advanced cancer receiving immunotherapy, it can be challenging to differentiate true progression from pseudoprogression during early treatment cycles based on imaging,” said Lillian Siu, MD, FRCPC, Medical Oncologist and Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. “To better identify non-responders and guide timely treatment adjustments, more reliable response assessment tools are needed. Methylation-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) technology shows promise in these regards.” 

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The ability of Adela’s test to identify progression in patients treated with immunotherapy was demonstrated in two studies. The first study included banked samples from 64 patients with advanced head & neck,  breast, ovarian, melanoma, or other solid tumors who received pembrolizumab. Blood samples were collected pre-treatment and prior to initiation of cycle 3 of treatment. A decrease in ctDNA from the pre-treatment blood draw to the pre-cycle 3 blood draw was associated with a significantly better PFS [hazard ratio (HR) of 0.28 (0.15, 0.49); p<0.0001] and OS [HR 0.42 (0.24, 0.76); p=0.003].

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“These results show promise in assessing response to immunotherapy early in a patient’s course of treatment,” said Enrique Sanz-Garcia, MD, Medical Oncologist and Clinician-Investigator at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. “Identifying non-response earlier can support timely treatment decisions and help avoid unnecessary toxicity.”

The second study included banked samples from 63 patients with stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer treated with definitive chemoradiation followed by consolidative durvalumab (stage III) or with PD-1 inhibitors +/- chemotherapy (stage IV). Blood samples were collected pre-treatment, 2-4 weeks after treatment initiation and approximately 6-8 weeks thereafter until progression. Patients with a positive MRD test showed significantly worse PFS than those who tested negative (HR 4.8; 95% CI, 2.1-10.8; P < 0.0001).

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“Together, these two studies demonstrate the potential of Adela’s tissue-agnostic test to predict outcomes and support clinical decision-making for patients receiving immunotherapy across a range of cancer types,” said Dr. Anne-Renee Hartman, Chief Medical Officer at Adela. “Because tumor tissue is often unavailable in patients with advanced cancer, Adela’s blood-only, tissue-free approach offers a universally accessible solution for this population.”

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Adela’s MRD test based on its genome-wide methylome enrichment platform is currently available to biopharmaceutical companies and other investigators for Research Use Only (RUO), including for biomarker discovery and drug development. Adela plans to commercialize the test in 2025 for use in patients who have received curative intent treatment for head & neck cancer, regardless of HPV status, to detect recurrence earlier and help guide treatment decision-making.

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Presentation Details

Abstract #8550: Identification of immunotherapy early treatment failure in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using a novel cell-free DNA (cfDNA) tissue-agnostic genome-wide methylome enrichment assay

Dr. Tuan Hoang¹ 

Hall A, Poster Board: 30

Saturday May 31, 2025 1:30 PM-4:30 PM CDT

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Abstract # 2545: Validation of an optimized tissue-agnostic genome-wide methylome enrichment assay to predict clinical outcomes in patients treated with pembrolizumab

DR. Enrique Sanz-Garcia¹

Hall A, Poster Board: 192

Monday June 2, 2025 1:30 PM-4:30 PM CDT