/ en Thu, 07 Aug 25 11:19:13 -0400 /news/boston-childrens-hospital-dana-farber-cancer-institute-and-broad-clinical-labs-launch <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and ӳ����ý Clinical Labs launch precision genomics initiative for pediatric cancer</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Tom Ulrich</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2025-08-07T11:19:13-04:00" class="datetime">August 7, 2025</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and ӳ����ý Clinical Labs launch precision genomics initiative for pediatric cancer</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The BrightSeq clinical research and testing initiative aimed at bringing liquid biopsy and genomic technologies into routine clinical care.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By ӳ����ý Clinical Labs </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2025-08-07T11:19:13-04:00" title="Thursday, August 7, 2025 - 11:19" class="datetime">August 7, 2025</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Collage of two photos: Kimberly Stegmaier on the left and Niall Lennon on the right"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/Stegmaier%2BLennon%20for%20BrightSeq%20announcement.png?itok=ONW4fH5w 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/png" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/Stegmaier%2BLennon%20for%20BrightSeq%20announcement.png?itok=ONW4fH5w 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/png" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/Stegmaier%2BLennon%20for%20BrightSeq%20announcement.png?itok=YSyO37Ie 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/png" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/Stegmaier%2BLennon%20for%20BrightSeq%20announcement.png?itok=wbhjkflG 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/png" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/Stegmaier%2BLennon%20for%20BrightSeq%20announcement.png?itok=2TgMKPJa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/png" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/Stegmaier%2BLennon%20for%20BrightSeq%20announcement.png?itok=ZZ8ePH5L 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/png" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/Stegmaier%2BLennon%20for%20BrightSeq%20announcement.png?itok=ZZ8ePH5L" alt="Collage of two photos: Kimberly Stegmaier on the left and Niall Lennon on the right" title="Collage of two photos: Kimberly Stegmaier on the left and Niall Lennon on the right" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Kimberly Stegmaier (left) and Niall Lennon (right) </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/2726/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/2726/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/2726/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In a pioneering collaboration aimed at transforming pediatric cancer diagnostics and research, Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), and <a href="https://broadclinicallabs.org/" target="_blank">ӳ����ý Clinical Labs</a> have announced the formation of BrightSeq (Boston Research in Innovative Genomics for Hematologic and Tumor Sequencing), a collaborative clinical research and testing initiative.  </p> <p>The National Cancer Institute reports that although cancer in children and adolescents is rare, it is the leading cause of death by disease after infancy among children in the United States. It is estimated that, in 2024, just under 15,000 children and adolescents will be diagnosed with cancer and around 1,500 will die of the disease. BrightSeq is a groundbreaking effort to design, validate, and implement a suite of novel clinical diagnostic and prognostic assays specifically tailored to rare pediatric cancers.  </p> <p>This initiative, made possible by the generous support of numerous philanthropic donors, builds on prior foundational research developed in the laboratory of Brian Crompton at DFCI’s pediatric oncology group, in collaboration with ӳ����ý scientists. This work demonstrated that circulating tumor DNA is a clinically meaningful biomarker for pediatric solid tumors, establishing a compelling case for integrating liquid biopsy and genomic technologies into routine clinical care — and laying the groundwork for BrightSeq’s innovative assay design. </p> <p>By harnessing the complementary expertise of three world-renowned institutions, this initiative aims to simultaneously improve patient care through the return of actionable genomic findings, and accelerate pediatric cancer research through robust sample acquisition and correlative molecular analysis. </p> <h2>A distributed model for clinical innovation </h2> <p>BrightSeq represents a distributed operational model where each institution leads a distinct and critical role in the assay lifecycle: BCH will lead clinical variant interpretation and reporting, ensuring medically actionable insights reach care teams; ӳ����ý Clinical Labs will build, validate, and operate clinical sequencing and genomic analysis in its CLIA/CAP facility as well as provide continuous innovation in assay development and bioinformatics; and DFCI will drive patient and consortia engagement, research cohort analysis, and translational assay innovation. </p> <h2>The BrightSeq Pediatric Assay Suite </h2> <p>The target product suite is designed to provide clinical somatic molecular testing for known or suspected pediatric solid malignancies and sarcomas. The BrightSeq suite will deliver CLIA assays for somatic whole exome sequencing of tumor samples and ultra-low pass whole genome sequencing and custom hybrid capture sequencing of liquid biopsy samples for sensitive tumor fraction estimation and targeted somatic profiling for key genomic alterations relevant to pediatric cancers.</p> <p>“BrightSeq exemplifies our commitment to precision diagnostics for children with cancer. The clinical and research benefits of this platform will be significant and immediate,” said Mark Fleming, pathologist-in-chief at Boston Children’s Hospital. </p> <p>“This collaborative model will empower us to address urgent needs in pediatric cancer research while also returning critical results to patients and families,” noted <a href="/node/7052">Kimberly Stegmaier</a>, chair of the Department of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an institute member in the ӳ����ý's <a href="/node/8529">Cancer Program</a>. </p> <p>“BrightSeq blends genomics innovation with scalable clinical operations. We’re proud to help create a framework that supports both care delivery and discovery,” said <a href="/node/48591">Niall Lennon</a>, chair and chief scientific officer at ӳ����ý Clinical Labs. </p> <p><em>Adapted from <a href="https://broadclinicallabs.org/boston-childrens-hospital-dana-farber-cancer-institute-and-broad-clinical-labs-launch-precision-genomics-initiative-for-pediatric-cancer/" target="_blank">a press release</a> initially issued by ӳ����ý Clinical Labs, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Boston Children's Hospital.</em></p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/broad-clinical-labs" hreflang="en">ӳ����ý Clinical Labs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/cancer-program" hreflang="en">Cancer Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/kimberly-stegmaier" hreflang="en">Kimberly Stegmaier</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/niall-lennon" hreflang="en">Niall Lennon</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Thu, 07 Aug 2025 15:19:13 +0000 tulrich@broadinstitute.org 5559306 at