Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 30, 2026
Microfluidics-based High-throughput Circulating Tumor Cell Sorting and Single-cell Sequencing Technology
Published on: November 14, 2025
RNA-Seq of Tumor-Educated Platelets Enables Blood-Based Pan-Cancer, Multiclass, and Molecular Pathway Cancer
Myron G Best1, Nik Sol2, Irsan Kooi3
1Department of Pathology, VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neurosurgery, VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Tumor-educated blood platelets (TEPs) are implicated as central players in the systemic and local responses to tumor growth, thereby altering their RNA profile. We determined the diagnostic potential of TEPs by mRNA sequencing of 283 platelet samples. We distinguished 228 patients with localized and metastasized tumors from 55 healthy individuals with 96% accuracy. Across six different tumor types, the location of the primary tumor was correctly identified with 71% accuracy. Also, MET or HER2-positive, and mutant KRAS, EGFR, or PIK3CA tumors were accurately distinguished using surrogate TEP mRNA profiles. Our results indicate that blood platelets provide a valuable platform for pan-cancer, multiclass cancer, and companion diagnostics, possibly enabling clinical advances in blood-based "liquid biopsies".
