Speaker Profile
PMWC PIONEER AWARD
Advancing liquid biopsy by uncovering circulating tumor cells and founding the European Liquid Biopsy Society
M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Chair, European Liquid Biopsy Society
Biography
Klaus Pantel is a global pioneer in liquid biopsy whose groundbreaking research established circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and micrometastases as clinically meaningful biomarkers. His work revealed how tumor cells disseminate early in cancer progression and provided the first evidence that these rare cells could guide prognosis and therapy monitoring. Pantels leadership extended beyond the lab with the founding of the European Liquid Biopsy Society, creating the infrastructure and collaborations needed to advance blood-based cancer detection worldwide. His contributions have transformed liquid biopsy from a research concept into a cornerstone of precision oncology, enabling earlier detection, real-time treatment monitoring, and more effective cancer care.
Talk
Early detection of cancer by multimodal liquid biopsy analysis
Early detection of cancer is one of the most challenging application of liquid biopsy with overarching goal to reduce cancer mortality. Here, I will discuss the concept of a multimodal liquid biopsy encompassing the broad range of blood biomarkers including cell-free DNA, proteins, RNAs, extracellular vesicles, metabolites as well as circulating tumor and host cells as exemplified in my EU-funded project PANCAID aimed to detect pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins University
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Klaus Pantel, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf / ELBS
• Daniel De Carvalho, University of Toronto
Keynote: Early Detection of Cancer by Multimodal Liquid Biopsy Analysis
• Klaus Pantel, UKE / ELBS
From Mutation to Methylation: The Next Wave of Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers
• Chair: Victor Velculescu, Johns Hopkins University
• Daniel De Carvalho, University of Toronto
• Manel Esteller, Sant Pau Research Institute
• Gordon Sanghera, Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Advancing Minimal Residual Disease Detection Through cfDNA & cfRNA Profiling
• Chair: Luis Diaz, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Anne-Renee Hartman, Adela
• Klaus Pantel, UKE / ELBS
AI-Informed Biomarker Trials: Turning Early Signals into Actionable Designs
• Chair: Manish Kohli, University of Utah
• Luis Diaz, MSKCC
• Eric Klein, GRAIL
• Peter Bach, DELFI Diagnostics
• Samuel Levy, ClearNote Health
Role of AI in Liquid Biopsies & Cancer Detection
• Chair: Amoolya Singh, DELFI Diagnostics
• Matthew Baker, Dxcover
• Pankaj Vats, NVIDIA
Fragmentomics for Early Detection
• Varsha Rao, Claret Bioscience
Integrating Genetic Risk with Early Detection
• Giordano Botta, Allelica
Metagenomic Diagnostics & Global Pathogen Surveillance
• Charles Chiu, UCSF
AI-Driven Host–Pathogen Signatures from Plasma cfDNA
• Sivan Bercovici, Karius
Ultra-Sensitive Multimodal Liquid Biopsy for Early Cancer Detection
• Atul Sharan, CellMax Life
AI-Enhanced Proteomic Signatures for Early Cancer Detection
• Diana Abdueva, Aqtual
