Whole-genome MRD test detects more colorectal recurrences; foundation models subtype Barrett's esophagus biopsies

• Research Oct 23, 2026
  Whole-genome Oncodetect MRD test shows 72.2% sensitivity for colorectal recurrence versus 42.2% for exome version, Abbott says
  Abbott said Oct. 23 that a single blood test taken about one month after surgery with the whole-genome sequencing version of its tumor-informed Oncodetect molecular residual disease test reached 72.2% sensitivity for recurrence within two years, compared with 42.2% for the whole-exome version, in the Beta-CORRECT study. The company-reported analysis used post-surgical samples from 279 patients, predominantly with stage II and III colorectal cancer, and was presented as a poster at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress. The test has not been cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the company said.
  Source: Abbott (PR Newswire)
• AI Oct 21, 2026
  Ensembled pathology foundation models reach AUROC of 0.909 for adenocarcinoma detection in Barrett's esophagus slides
  Ensembled histopathology foundation models were tested on 3,528 hematoxylin and eosin-stained whole-slide images from 790 patients with Barrett's esophagus, according to a study published Oct. 21 in npj Digital Medicine. The models reached an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.909 for esophageal adenocarcinoma detection and 0.907 for morphological subtyping. The authors cited persistent challenges in dysplasia assessment and the need for external validation.
  Sources: npj Digital Medicine, PubMed

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