EP 164: Groundbreaking advances in MMR-deficient rectal cancer, liquid biopsies, and precision oncology with Dr. Luis Diaz

The Genetics Podcast

0:00 Introduction

1:48 Welcome to Dr. Diaz

2:19 Insights from Dr. Diaz’s groundbreaking clinical trial on treating MMR-deficient rectal cancer patients with dostarlimab, which achieved an astonishing 100% complete tumor regression without chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery.

2:45 The origins of this breakthrough study, spanning decades of work in rectal cancer

3:45 How cancer genomics and immunotherapy link, or as Dr. Diaz puts it, “the marriage between cancer genomics and immunotherapy”

7:37 Recurring themes of DNA mismatch repair and microsatellite tumors in early tumorigenesis

10:01 The hypothesis that high mutational burden with immune checkpoint inhibition would lead to therapeutic responses for cancer

15:28 FDA approval for checkpoint inhibitors to treat tumors at any site exhibiting mismatch repair deficiency, which opened the floodgates for tumor agnostic indicators moving forward

18:31 Preventing polyp formation in colon cancer in order to delay cancer progression

23:04 The game-changing use of liquid biopsy for non-invasive cancer detection: how it works and its potential to become a routine tool in the clinic

30:28 Using machine learning and other technological advancements to address biological limitations to early cancer detection

34:21 Improving the signal-to-noise ratio to enhance resolution and detect tumorigenic mutations through stable and specific biological markers

40:04 The potential for those in other fields, such as lung and brain diseases, to learn from Dr. Diaz’s work in cancer therapeutics and early detection

45:47 Closing remarks

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