Biodesix Diagnostic Tests
Biodesix Diagnostic Tests support clinical decisions to expedite personalized care and improve outcomes for patients with lung disease.
We have unique expertise in:- lung nodule risk assessment tests
- lung cancer treatment guidance tests: tumor mutation testing and host immune profile testing
- Biodesix AI and machine learning capabilities for analysis
Connect with the team to learn more about our testing portfolio.
For a scientific description of Biodesix diagnostic tests, please see below.
Tests for Diagnosis – Lung Nodule Management
Our blood-based tests for patients with a pulmonary nodule, Nodify Lung® Nodule Risk Assessment, assists physicians in reclassifying a patient’s risk of lung cancer by incorporating their protein biomarker results with radiographic imaging and clinical characteristics. Nodify Lung testing consists of the Nodify CDT® and Nodify XL2® proteomic tests, which can be ordered separately or together from a single blood draw to help reclassify risk of cancer to aid physicians in stratifying patients into distinct nodule management pathways with the goal of earlier diagnosis of cancer and avoidance of unnecessary invasive procedures. The Nodify CDT test is a blood-based proteomic test that helps identify patients who have a suspicious lung nodule that is likely malignant or at a higher risk of being cancerous. Results allow physicians to identify patients who may be better candidates for timely invasive diagnostic procedures such as bronchoscopy, transthoracic needle biopsy, or surgical resection, with the goal of diagnosing cancer earlier. The Nodify CDT test enhances lung nodule risk assessment to facilitate compliance with clinical treatment guidelines. The Nodify CDT test is validated for use in patients who are 40 years or older, have no history of cancer except non-melanomatous skin cancer, have nodules between 8 and 30mm, and pre-test risk of lung cancer of less than 65%. The test measures the levels of seven circulating autoantibodies (P53, NY-ESO-1, CAGE, GBU4-5, SOX2, HuD, and MAGE A4) associated with lung cancer, combined with an algorithm to report out three potential results: High Level, Moderate Level, or No Significant Levels of Antibodies Detected (NSLAD). The seven autoantibodies have been shown to be elevated for all types of lung cancer, and from the earliest stage of the disease. Unlike the tumor antigens themselves, the autoantibody levels can be measured accurately through a blood sample, based upon the signal amplification generated by the immune response to cancer. This mechanism of action likely reflects very early events in a tumor’s evolution; as the immune system initiates a response to the cancer, it can also trigger an expansion of self-reactive antibodies that can be measured in circulation. The Nodify CDT test has an established average turnaround time of one business day from receipt of the blood sample, providing physicians with timely results to guide diagnostic planning. The clinical data for the test has been published in a number of peer-reviewed publications and presentations, including a clinical validation study published in late 2024 that confirmed the previously published performance of the test. The Nodify XL2 test is a blood-based proteomic test that helps identify patients who have a suspicious lung nodule that is likely benign or at a reduced risk of being cancerous. Results allow physicians to identify patients who may be better candidates for routine CT surveillance to monitor for growth or shrinkage of the nodule over time instead of an invasive diagnostic procedure. The Nodify XL2 test is used for patients who are 40 years or older, have no history of lung cancer or other recent cancer diagnoses, have nodules between 8 and 30mm, and have a pre-test risk of lung cancer of less than or equal to 50%. A body of clinical data has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presentations and recent data from the ORACLE clinical utility study was published demonstrating a 74% reduction in unnecessary invasive procedures with the use of the test. The Nodify XL2 test integrates peptides with clinical and radiological characteristics that are combined by an algorithm to report out three potential results: Likely Benign, Reduced Risk, or Indeterminate. Specifically, the Nodify XL2 test measures the relative abundance of two peptides (LG3BP and C163A) in circulation in the patient’s blood. The native proteins from which the peptides are derived have been associated with an inflammatory response to lung cancer. The clinical factors are patient age and smoking status, and radiological factors are nodule size, location, and edge characteristics. If both tests are ordered for the patient and Nodify CDT returns a result of High or Moderate Level indicating an increased risk of malignancy, then the Nodify XL2 test is cancelled. If Nodify CDT returns a result of NSLAD, then the Nodify XL2 test is performed, and both test results are typically available within four to five business days.
Tests for Lung Cancer Treatment & Monitoring
Profiling the tumor through blood-based genomic testing can help identify mutations in genes that may be driving growth of the tumor and may be targets for therapeutics. However, tumors also have intrinsic mechanisms that prevent the patient’s immune system from identifying and eliminating the cancer cells. Profiling the immune system can show if the patient’s immune system may have been subverted and therefore, is less likely to be responsive to immunotherapies. Our blood-based IQLung® testing strategy consists of the VeriStrat® immune profiling test, and the GeneStrat® ddPCR and GeneStrat NGS® tumor profiling tests, which can be ordered together or separately for patients with NSCLC. Together, the tests have an established average turnaround time of three business days, providing physicians with timely results to facilitate treatment decisions. The VeriStrat test is a blood-based proteomic test that provides a personalized view of each patient’s immune response to their cancer. Results help inform physicians whether their patient has a more aggressive cancer and can help with treatment planning. The VeriStrat test profiles the patient’s immune system by measuring eight protein features measured by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry and interpreted by a proprietary machine learning-based algorithm to produce either a VeriStrat Good or VeriStrat Poor test result. The presence of a VeriStrat Poor result indicates the presence of chronic inflammation and a chronic acute phase immune response. A chronic acute phase immune response can trigger the immune system to provide growth factors to the tumor to increase blood flow and tumor growth. The test has been studied in over 85 peer-reviewed and published clinical studies across many different types of therapies such as chemotherapy, targeted therapies, immune therapies, and combinations. The results consistently show the test to be predictive of outcomes, independent of other prognostic factors including PD-L1 expression and performance status. Patients who test as VeriStrat Poor, on average, have an overall survival that is less than half of those who test as VeriStrat Good, independent of treatment type, demonstrating that the test is strongly prognostic. Conversely, patients with a VeriStrat Good test result typically respond better to standard of care treatments than those patients that test as VeriStrat Poor. By using the VeriStrat test for immune profiling, physicians can help identify the patient's immune response to lung cancer to help guide treatment decisions. The GeneStrat ddPCR test is a blood-based tumor profiling test that detects the guideline recommended, actionable mutations in lung cancer: EGFR, KRAS, BRAF, EML4-ALK, ROS-1, and RET. Physicians can order one or any combination of the gene tests, whichever they deem medically necessary for the individual patient. The presence of a mutation in one of the genes could indicate the patient is a candidate for the associated guideline-recommended targeted therapy. The GeneStrat test performance and potential clinical utility have been published in multiple peer reviewed studies. The GeneStrat NGS test is a blood-based 52-gene tumor profiling test panel that detects the guideline recommended, actionable mutations in lung cancer including five gene classes (SNV, INDELS, CNA, fusions, and exon-skipping). Specific variants of relevance to NSCLC include EGFR, KRAS, BRAF, EML4-ALK, ROS-1, RET, MET, NTRK. The GeneStrat NGS test is used for late-stage, metastatic NSCLC and physicians can order one or any combination of the IQLung tests, whichever they deem medically necessary for the individual patient. The presence of a mutation in one of the genes could indicate the patient is a candidate for the associated guideline recommended targeted therapy. The GeneStrat NGS test performance and potential clinical utility have been published in multiple published studies. We believe that rapid, blood-based tumor profiling with the GeneStrat ddPCR and GeneStrat NGS tests can be complementary to both targeted tissue-based testing and tissue-based broad genomic sequencing. Testing with GeneStrat ddPCR and GeneStrat NGS tests at diagnosis can help quickly identify patients who are eligible for targeted therapies. Additionally, blood-based testing upfront can help save valuable tissue for diagnostic evaluation, and broad genomic profiling for rare mutations to enroll in clinical trials.