Blood-Based RNA Test May Predict Chemotherapy Sensitivity in Lung Cancer

Blood-based assays that noninvasively capture tumor biology could support more precise therapy decisions. New findings now link ribosome quality control activity to circulating small RNA biomarkers detectable in lung cancer.

Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH (Heidelberg, Germany) will present research at the EACR Congress, taking place June 8–11, 2026, in Budapest, Hungary, on the biological and clinical relevance of its liquid biopsy RNA biomarkers for lung cancer. The presentation (Abstract #1530) highlights a mechanistic link between ribosome quality control pathways and the generation of blood-based small RNA biomarkers, supporting the company’s development of blood-based tests for earlier disease detection and precision medicine.

The data indicate that challenging the protein synthesis machinery in cancer cells leads to ribosome stalling and collisions, which in turn activate ribosome quality control pathways. This activity produces biomarker precursor molecules that are secreted and mature extracellularly, yielding specific small RNAs detectable in patient-derived liquid biopsy samples. The findings also suggest a connection between ribosomal RNA methylation dynamics, the resulting biomarker signals, and cellular sensitivity to ribotoxic stress.

The study proposes that an RNA biomarker biogenesis cascade reflecting ribosome stress and quality control activity could aid patient stratification. Specifically, the signals may help identify patients more likely to respond to therapies that induce RNA damage, such as chemotherapy. The new data are presented as evidence that circulating small RNAs linked to ribosome stress are directly measurable in blood.

“These findings strengthen the biological foundation of our liquid biopsy approach and provide compelling evidence linking ribosome stress-sensing pathways directly to measurable small RNA biomarkers’ signal,” said Rastislav Horos, CTO of Hummingbird. “Importantly, this work supports the potential of our technology not only for cancer detection but also for identifying patients with specific biological vulnerabilities that may inform treatment decisions.”

“There remains a significant unmet need for an assay that can guide treatment decisions in lung cancer, especially for patients with unknown tumor-driving mutations, or those where biopsy is not possible,” said Dr. Michal Urda, Head of the Department of Pneumology and Phtiseology, University Hospital F.D. Roosevelt, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. “Such a liquid biopsy assay may help identify patients with increased sensitivity to therapy and thus support more personalized treatment approaches.”

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