Data from >75,000 patients underscore advances in AI-driven virtual genomics, Signatera™-guided treatment monitoring, and continued expansion of MRD and other capabilities
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRA) a global leader in cell-free DNA and precision medicine, today announced that 20 abstracts, including two oral presentations, featuring data generated using its technologies will be presented at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research® (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, taking place April 17–22 in San Diego, CA.
These presentations, developed in collaboration with leading academic and clinical partners, span multiple tumor types and applications, including artificial intelligence, digital pathology, molecular residual disease (MRD) and real-world evidence (RWE).
“These presentations reflect both the scale of our platform and the pace of innovation we’re driving across oncology,” said Alexey Aleshin, M.D., corporate chief medical officer and general manager, oncology and early cancer detection at Natera. “From AI-enabled genomic insights to real-world evidence supporting ctDNA-guided treatment decisions, this body of work demonstrates how we are continuing to innovate within and beyond MRD to deliver more precise, data-driven approaches across cancer care.”
Key highlights
Artificial Intelligence
- Natera’s oral presentation, A large-scale, multi-target deep learning model for virtual genomic profiling in colorectal cancer, describes a digital pathology deep learning model trained on molecular and histopathology data from more than 45,000 colorectal cancer patients in a first-of-its-kind analysis. The model predicts risk of recurrence, hundreds of genomic alterations and key guideline biomarkers directly from routine H&E images, with an industry-leading area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) of 0.98 for MSI-status and 0.93 for BRAF V600E status. This highlights the potential to transform routine pathology slides into a scalable, AI-enabled genomic profiling platform, expanding access to high-value molecular data, reducing tissue constraints and accelerating time to treatment decisions.
- An additional poster in breast cancer, A machine learning approach to classify breast cancer receptor subtype using genomic features, analyzed data from nearly 20,000 patients. The study concluded that a machine learning model using tumor DNA can accurately classify breast cancer into its major subtypes, including high precision of 93.5% and recall of 91.1% for identifying HR+/HER2- disease.
ctDNA Decision-Making
- A second oral presentation, Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) clearance dynamics in microsatellite instability-high metastatic (MSI-H) colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), includes a real-world analysis of 465 patients with MSI-H metastatic CRC treated with ICI. The data shows that ~40% of patients had early ctDNA clearance on ICI. Signatera negativity at the first post-ICI timepoint was predictive of overall survival (OS), with 3-year OS of 96%. Moreover, MRD dynamics were strongly associated with improved OS with 65% of Signatera-positive patients achieving clearance anytime on or post-ICI.
Platform Expansion
- A poster on Natera’s methylation-based, tissue-free MRD platform entitled, Quantification of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients using cancer-specific, methylation-based, tissue-free tests for the detection of molecular residual disease (MRD), shows that quantitative ctDNA levels strongly correlate with Signatera quantitative levels across colorectal, breast, lung and bladder cancers. LatitudeTM, Natera’s tissue-free MRD assay, launched in CRC in 2025 and is expected to launch commercially in additional histologies with quantitative features later this year.
- A poster in early cancer detection, Performance of a blood-based screening test for the early detection of advanced precancerous lesions, summarizes previously announced PROCEED trial data that showed strong performance of Natera’s blood-based screening assay for detecting advanced precancerous lesions. The study demonstrated sensitivity of 22.5% (CI: 15.4%-32.4%) and specificity of 91.5% (CI: 88.2%-93.9%) and encompassed all histologic subtypes, including serrated polyps.
A full list of abstracts is included here.
About Natera
Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA and precision medicine, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. We aim to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard-of-care to protect health and inform earlier, more targeted interventions that help lead to longer, healthier lives. Natera’s tests are supported by more than 400 peer-reviewed publications that demonstrate excellent performance. Natera operates ISO 13485-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) in Austin, Texas, and San Carlos, California, and through Foresight Diagnostics, its subsidiary, operates an ISO 27001-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory certified under CLIA in Boulder, Colorado. For more information, visit www.natera.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and are not a representation that Natera’s plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Natera’s expectations as of the date of this press release, and Natera disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including with respect to our efforts to develop and commercialize new product offerings, whether the results of clinical or other studies will support the use of our product offerings, the impact of results of such studies, our expectations of the reliability, accuracy, and performance of our tests, or of the benefits of our tests and product offerings to patients, providers, and payers. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in "Risk Factors" in Natera’s recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and in other filings Natera makes with the SEC from time to time. These documents are available at www.natera.com/investors and www.sec.gov.
This release is not affiliated with or endorsed by AACR.
Contacts
Investor Relations: Mike Brophy, CFO, Natera, Inc., investor@natera.com
Media: Lesley Bogdanow, VP of Corporate Communications, Natera, Inc., pr@natera.com
