By Diagnostics World News Staff
October 16, 2025 | A new diagnostic tool could soon help oncologists identify which tumors are most vulnerable to a class of immunotherapies that target cancer’s sugar-coated surface. Researchers at the UC Irvine School of Medicine have developed a companion diagnostic that measures glycan density in tumor tissue, which could redefine how solid tumors are detected, classified, and treated.
The test accompanies a new family of glycan-dependent T-cell recruiter (GlyTR) therapeutics, unveiled from a study in Cell (DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.09.001) led by Michael Demetriou, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology, microbiology, and molecular genetics. The team discovered that cancer cells overexpress glycans, complex sugar chains found at high levels on the surface of cancer cells, which both shield cancer from immune attack and promote tumor growth.
Until now, glycans were considered difficult to target with traditional antibody-based therapies. Demetriou’s group changed that by designing lectin-based molecules capable of recognizing and binding these sugars with high avidity, similar to molecular Velcro. In models of different cancers, from breast and lung to pancreatic and ovarian tumors, GlyTR was found to be effective and left normal tissue unharmed.
Glycan profiling could become a powerful tool in precision oncology, identifying patients who express high levels of β1,6-branched N-glycans, the target of GlyTR1. These structures, driven by enzymes linked to metastasis, are present at up to 10,000 times the density of normal proteins, giving researchers a clear diagnostic signal and a wide safety margin.
Beyond matching patients to treatment, glycan diagnostics could offer broader insights into tumor biology. Because glycan patterns often correlate with immune evasion, aggressiveness, and metastatic potential, their detection might improve early disease stratification and therapy selection even before symptoms progress.
GlyTR Therapeutics, co-founded by Demetriou and his former postdoctoral fellow Raymond W. Zhou, is advancing both the therapeutic and diagnostic platforms. Regulatory agencies encourage this co-development approach, ensuring that patient testing and drug targeting evolve together.
With support from the National Cancer Institute and UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, clinical trials are expected to start in 2027. If successful, the GlyTR diagnostic could set a precedent for integrating glycomics—the study of complex sugars—into routine cancer diagnostics.
To read the full story by Deborah Borfitz, head over to Bio-IT World.