Ultrasensitive MRD Detection with WGS ppmSeq: An Expert Panel Discussion on the Clinical and Global Impact of a Scalable MRD Solution

Technical Introduction to ppmSeq followed by Panel Discussion of Topics relevant to Minimal Residual Disease. Ultra-sensitive minimal residual disease (MRD) detection has the potential to transform cancer management by enabling earlier detection of relapse, guiding therapeutic decision making, and improving patient outcomes. Traditional next-generation sequencing approaches, however, are limited by low sensitivity and errors introduced during sample preparation, constraining their clinical utility for MRD monitoring. Building on ultra-low-error, flow-based sequencing, ppmSeq, a technology native to the Ultima Genomics platform, encodes both DNA strands in a single read to achieve up to part-per-ten million (10⁻⁷) accuracy for SNV detection with 10- to 100-fold less sequencing depth than conventional error-correction methods. In a recent preprint, researchers from the Landau group at Weill Cornell and the NY Genome Center applied ppmSeq to circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from cancer patients, detecting ultra-rare variants down to one-in-ten million alleles, enabling ultrasensitive MRD monitoring. The approach is compatible with low-input and cell-free DNA samples and demonstrates the ability to reliably detect disease-specific signals even in tumor-naive settings, where no matched tumor sample is available. In this webinar, expert panelists Dan Landau, professor at Weill Cornell Medicine and core member at NY Genome Center; Mark Sausen, head of technology innovation at Labcorp Oncology; and Nitzan Rosenfeld, director and professor of applied cancer research at Barts Cancer Institute will discuss clinical and technological implications of ppmSeq to MRD. Attendees will learn: The clinical challenges of MRD detection and why high-sensitivity variant detection is essential How ppmSeq enables ultrasensitive SNV detection at part-per-ten million accuracy Advantages of ppmSeq for low-input and cell-free DNA samples in MRD workflows Real-world applications of ppmSeq for tumor-informed and tumor-naive ctDNA monitoring Implications for integrating genome-wide MRD testing into clinical practice and drug development