Blood Platelets Capture Tumor DNA and Fetal DNA — Boosting Early Cancer Detection and Prenatal Screening
Lauren Murphy, postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Oxford, recently shared a post on Linkedin:
“New paper alert! Thrilled and proud to share that our latest work has just been published in Science Magazine!
We reveal a new function for blood platelets – acting as ‘sponges’ for DNA in plasma.
They capture fragments released from tumors and other tissues – a source of information that could be crucial for cancer detection and prenatal screening.
Our work shows that standard liquid biopsy approaches, which focus on cell-free DNA from platelet-depleted plasma, may be missing this rich source. Including platelet DNA could boost sensitivity, especially in early disease!
Huge thanks to my PhD supervisors Beth Psaila, Simon Leedham and Adam Mead.
This project was a true team effort and would not have been possible without so many incredible colleagues: Jeanne Inchauspé, Giampiero Valenzano, Chris Gregory, Pamella Holland, Paul Rees, Benjamin Schuster-Böckler, Eric O’Neill, Ian Hitchcock, Michael Desborough and Manu Vatish.
Above all, thank you to the patients who contributed samples and inspired this work.”
Read the full paper here.
You can watch a summary video here.
Article: Platelets sequester extracellular DNA, capturing tumor-derived and free fetal DNA
Authors: Lauren Murphy, Jeanne Inchauspé, Giampiero Valenzano, Pamela Holland, Nikolaos Sousos, Hayley L. Belnoue-Davis, Rong Li, Natalie J. Jooss, Camelia Benlabiod, Eleanor Murphy, Zohar Etzioni, Emelie Shepherd, Lucy Denly, Sujata Biswas, Lin Chen, Jennifer O’Sullivan, Michael P. Rimmer, Abdullah O. Khan, Christina Simoglou Karali, Nadia Nasreddin, Ian S. Hitchcock, Milka Koupenova, Skirmantas Kriaucionis, Jim R. Hughes, Eric O’Neill, Manu Vatish, Paul Rees, Simon Leedham, Michael Desborough, Adam J. Mead, Benjamin Schuster-Böckler, Christopher D. Gregory, Bethan Psaila
Stay in tune with Hemostasis Today.
-
Oct 3, 2025, 07:53Pancytopenia in Pregnancy: A Time-Critical Hematological Emergency
-
Oct 2, 2025, 14:12Helen McPherson at ISFP-IFRS 2025: Fibrin Clot Structure and Function Modulation by Targeting Fibrinogen aC Region
-
Oct 2, 2025, 10:48Kanishk Kumar: TFPI Market Size - Advancing Hemostasis and Antithrombotic Therapy
-
Oct 2, 2025, 07:31Non-Invasive Management of Radial Artery Pseudoaneurysm
-
Oct 2, 2025, 07:28Mohamed Gamal: Rethinking The Standard of Care for Deep Vein Thrombosis Management
-
Oct 3, 2025, 14:00Quentin Van Thillo Shares His Latest Article on VWD: Grateful to Have Worked with Cedric Hermans
-
Oct 3, 2025, 13:40Cihan Ay and Colleagues on Thromboembolism and Bleeding in Multiple Myeloma
-
Oct 3, 2025, 13:27Laura Haynes: This Was Such a Fun and Collaborative Project to Be a Part of!
-
Oct 3, 2025, 12:40Christian Pfrepper and Team's Letter on Emicizumab Plasma Concentration Measurment in EDTA plasma
-
Oct 3, 2025, 12:00Giuseppe Lippi and Colleagues on the Impact of Hemolysis on Coagulation Testing
-
Oct 3, 2025, 15:31Anirban Sen Gupta and Andrew Shoffstall Collaboration on Bioinspired Synthetic Platelet Systems for Brain Injury Treatment
-
Oct 3, 2025, 15:07Shai Shen-Orr: Excited to Share that The Human Immunome Project (HIP) Has Launched Its Scientific Partner Network
-
Oct 2, 2025, 04:59Caterina Casari - Prizes for Innovators 2025 Winner!
-
Oct 2, 2025, 04:572025 Innovators Award: Ile de France Région Recognizes 3 Researchers Who Have Committed Themselves to The Innovation
-
Oct 1, 2025, 15:59Anirban Sen Gupta: Thrilled to share a great collaboration story in Nature Portfolio
-
Oct 3, 2025, 14:48Maha Othman - Elected as the Co-Lead for the Basic and Translational Research Platform at CanVECTOR Research Network
-
Oct 3, 2025, 14:41Maria Elisa Mancuso: A Real Pleasure to Participate in The Policy Roundtable on Future of Haemophilia Care in Egypt
-
Oct 2, 2025, 04:37Louise Bannon: Did You Know that 1 in 4 People Lose Their Lives to Blood Clot-Related Conditions?
-
Oct 1, 2025, 16:35World Thrombosis Day 2025․ 8 Ways to Take Control and Save Lives
-
Oct 1, 2025, 12:30World Stroke Academy "Antithrombotic Therapy for Atherosclerotic Stroke Prevention" Webinar is Now Available to Record