Observational studyESMO open2026
A multi-centre performance evaluation of a commercially developed liquid biopsy for the earlier detection of brain tumours.
Observational study in ESMO open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
34 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDelayed diagnosis of brain cancer leads to two-thirds of patients receiving a diagnosis only after presenting to the emergency department with more severe symptoms or neurological deficits. A simple, rapid, liquid biopsy implemented in primary care could enable more efficient triage of patients with non-specific symptoms potentially related to brain cancer, prioritising patients for urgent brain imaging, and accelerating diagnosis. PATIENTS AND
methodsPresented is the international, multi-centre, observational Early and tiMely detection of BRAin CancEr (EMBRACE) study. Patients were prospectively recruited across seven sites in Europe, from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland. The target population consisted of patients with symptoms potentially associated with brain cancer. Blood serum samples were analysed by the Dxcover® Brain Cancer Liquid Biopsy Platform. Test performance was assessed by comparison of the liquid biopsy result to diagnostic imaging.
resultsTwo thousand five hundred and fifty-four patients were enrolled across the seven collection sites; 2324 were deemed eligible and taken forward for test assessment. There were 697 brain tumours in total, of which 395 were malignant, and 1627 non-tumour diagnoses. Overall diagnostic performance for the primary objective was 86% sensitivity for brain cancer detection with 99% negative predictive value (NPV). Sensitivity for all brain tumours combined (malignant and benign) was 77%. Notably, for the most prevalent and most aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma, 86% of cases were successfully identified. Additionally, 94% of patients with central nervous system lymphoma, and 90% of brain metastases were predicted correctly as having tumours.
conclusionsExisting symptom-based referral pathways are ineffective for the detection of brain cancer, and there is an urgent need for new tests to help with clinical decision making. With a NPV of 99%, the Dxcover Liquid Biopsy test could assist in primary care for efficient stratification of patients toward diagnostic imaging.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.