Natera Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRA) announced two peer-reviewed publications demonstrating the clinical utility of its Signatera circulating tumor DNA test in anal and rectal cancers.

A study published in Nature Communications evaluated 84 patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma. Patients who were Signatera-negative at baseline or cleared circulating tumor DNA during chemoradiotherapy achieved 100% one-year overall survival and progression-free survival, with 0% local regional failure. Patients who remained positive after treatment had 63% overall survival, 44% progression-free survival, and 39% locoregional failure at one year.

The study found that in 100% of recurrent cases, Signatera-positivity preceded clinical or radiographic recurrence detection.

A second study published in Cancers examined 220 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant therapy. Among 72 patients managed non-operatively, those who were Signatera-positive faced 4.6 times higher risk of tumor regrowth requiring surgery compared to negative patients.

For post-operative patients, Signatera-negative individuals experienced an 11.5% relapse rate compared to 88.0% among positive patients.

"By providing earlier insight into molecular residual disease, Signatera can support more individualized surveillance and treatment decisions," said Alexey Aleshin, corporate chief medical officer and general manager of oncology at Natera.

The information is based on a company press release statement. Natera operates laboratories in Austin, Texas, San Carlos, California, and Boulder, Colorado through its subsidiary Foresight Diagnostics.