dr. Malaika Van der Linden (PhD)

The gold standard for the diagnosis of most cancers is examination of a tissue biopsy. However, some lesions are difficult to reach, or biopsies may be too small for a comprehensive diagnosis. Detection of circulating tumour DNA in blood plasma forms the basis of a minimally invasive liquid biopsy approach.
Our research group investigates how liquid biopsies from patients with lung cancer and (aggressive) lymphomas can be used for cancer subtyping and differential diagnosis, potentially reducing the need for invasive tissue biopsies. By analysing tumour-derived genomic and epigenomic alterations in plasma, we aim to improve diagnostic accuracy and enable comprehensive tumour characterization from a simple blood sample.
Recent advances in molecular diagnostics have highlighted the importance of genetic and epigenetic profiling in refining disease classification, guiding treatment decisions, and predicting clinical outcomes. Our studies therefore focus on genome-wide approaches, including copy number and methylation profiling. From blood collection to bioinformatics, procedures are being optimized for the analysis of both liquid biopsies and traditional tissue biopsies.
In addition, we are exploring emerging technologies such as long-read sequencing, which offers a transformative approach by enabling the simultaneous detection of methylation patterns, numerical chromosomal alterations, and structural genomic variants within a single assay.
Ongoing projects aim to integrate genomic and epigenomic information to achieve comprehensive tumour profiling through liquid biopsy. Ultimately, this work could lead to sensitive and specific blood-based diagnostic tests capable of accurately distinguishing between different cancer types and providing clinically actionable molecular information.
 

• Lab address: Department of Pathology, PAD-building, entrance 23, Ghent University Hospital, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium