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We came across Alacris while we were trying to understand as much as possible about the biology of Stu’s tumour. By this point, we had become increasingly convinced that simply knowing Stu had glioblastoma wasn’t enough. We wanted to know what was driving his glioblastoma and whether understanding its individual molecular make-up could give us more treatment options. That led us to Alacris and its Comprehensive Molecular Tumor Analysis, or CMTA.
WHAT IS ALACRIS?
Alacris Theranostics is a Berlin-based company specialising in comprehensive molecular analysis and precision oncology. Its Comprehensive Molecular Tumor Analysis (CMTA) looks much more deeply at the individual biology of a tumour than the basic information we received when Stu was diagnosed.
The current Alacris-CMTA combines DNA sequencing with RNA analysis to build a detailed molecular profile of an individual tumour. Depending on the analysis, this can include information about mutations, tumour mutational burden, gene amplifications and deletions, gene fusions, gene expression, the tumour microenvironment and immune-cell infiltration. The resulting information is interpreted and presented in a report designed to help clinicians understand potentially relevant biomarkers, treatments and clinical trials.
In very basic terms, rather than simply saying “this is glioblastoma”, the idea is to ask: “What is actually happening inside this particular glioblastoma?”
And then: “Does any of that information give us something we can potentially target?”
OUR EXPERIENCE
We used the raw sequencing data generated from Stu’s tumour through CeGaT and sent this to Alacris for further analysis. The Alacris report gave us another layer of information about what was happening within Stu’s tumour and identified potentially relevant treatment options based on its molecular characteristics. The amount of information was enormous. And that was both the brilliant thing about it and the difficult thing about it.
We were trying to absorb information about mutations, genes, pathways, drugs and potential targets while also navigating standard treatment, researching additional options, caring for Stu and dealing with the small matter of our entire lives having been turned upside down by a glioblastoma diagnosis. The Alacris information also became part of the data we later shared with other doctors, including Dr Matt Williams and Dr Castro at Cellworks, as we tried to understand what the different results might mean for Stu.
WHY WE DID IT
For us, this was about trying to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. Two people can both have glioblastoma without their tumours being molecularly identical. That seemed incredibly important to us. We wanted to understand whether there was anything unusual or potentially targetable within Stu’s tumour that might help us make more personalised treatment decisions. We also wanted as much information as possible to take to doctors who were willing to look beyond standard of care.
It didn’t mean every mutation had a drug. It didn’t mean every theoretically relevant drug would work. And it certainly didn’t give us a magic list of treatments. But it gave us considerably more information about Stu’s tumour than we had started with.
2026 UPDATE
THINGS HAVE MOVED ON.
Alacris is still providing comprehensive molecular tumour analysis and its technology has continued to develop since Stu’s analysis in 2021. Its current Alacris-CMTA service is described as Deep Comprehensive Genomic Profiling. It combines deep RNA analysis with whole-exome or whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics to create an interpreted molecular profile of an individual tumour.
The current analysis can include things such as:
The important bit for me is that Alacris isn’t simply generating raw sequencing data. The aim is to interpret the information and produce a report that can help a clinician make sense of the molecular characteristics of an individual patient’s tumour.
Alacris now also describes its work as combining genomic and transcriptomic data with advanced and AI-powered bioinformatics. That feels particularly significant to me because understanding the data was one of the hardest parts of doing this in 2021. If you are considering comprehensive molecular tumour profiling now, please use Alacris’s current information rather than relying on the exact process, technology, timing or costs from our experience.
HINDSIGHT
WHAT WE KNOW NOW THAT WE WISH WE'D KNOWN THEN.
Having the data and understanding the data are two very different things. This is probably the biggest thing I would say about our experience with molecular testing. By the end, we had an extraordinary amount of information about Stu’s tumour. We had data and reports from CeGaT, Alacris and Cellworks. We had information from different doctors. We had mutations, pathways, treatment suggestions and hundreds of pages of incredibly technical information.
The problem was that we weren’t oncologists, geneticists, bioinformaticians or scientists. We could read the reports. We could Google individual mutations. We could look up drugs. We could send everything to doctors.
What was much harder was understanding how all of the information fitted together. Was something genuinely significant or just interesting? Did two different reports support each other? Did one piece of information contradict another? Was a particular pathway actually relevant? Was a drug suggestion based on strong clinical evidence, early research or simply a theoretical molecular match?
We didn’t always know. And when your husband has glioblastoma, you don’t exactly have several spare years to acquire a degree in cancer genomics.
WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY NOW.
I would absolutely use AI to help me interrogate the information. I’ve since seen a patient use AI with this kind of medical and genomic data and the results have been incredible. Not because AI magically knows how to cure cancer. It doesn’t. And I would never use AI instead of an oncologist or ask it to decide what treatment somebody should have. But I would use it as a tool to help me understand what I was looking at. I would ask it to explain individual findings in normal language. I would use it to compare reports. I would ask where two sets of results appeared to overlap.
I would ask it to explain pathways and terminology I didn’t understand. I would ask it to distinguish between a molecular finding and the evidence for actually targeting that finding in glioblastoma.
And most importantly, I would use it to help me formulate much better questions to take back to the people who were qualified to advise us. That would have been enormously valuable. We had so much information in 2021. What we didn’t always have was a way of turning information into understanding. The technology has moved on considerably since then. Alacris itself now talks about AI-powered bioinformatics as part of its approach to turning complex molecular data into useful insights. For me, that makes this kind of testing potentially much easier for a patient or caregiver to engage with than it was when we were sitting at home trying to decipher hundreds of pages ourselves.
IF I WERE DOING THIS AGAIN.
I would investigate comprehensive molecular profiling much earlier. I would make sure I knew exactly what tumour tissue had been retained after surgery and how it was stored. I would collect every pathology report, scan report, blood result and piece of molecular data from the beginning. I would keep everything digitally organised in one place. I would ask for the raw data as well as the interpreted reports wherever possible. I would use AI to help me understand and organise the information. And then I would take that understanding back to an oncologist or molecular tumour specialist and ask better questions. Because one of the biggest lessons from all of this was that information is useful, but information you can actually understand and act on is considerably more useful.
CURRENT INFORMATION
Alacris continues to offer its Comprehensive Molecular Tumor Analysis for precision oncology. The current service combines comprehensive DNA and RNA analysis with bioinformatics to create an interpreted molecular profile intended to support clinicians in treatment planning. Alacris states that the CMTA must be ordered through a healthcare professional. For current information about the test, sample requirements, costs, turnaround times and how to access the service, please go directly to Alacris.
WHAT IS ALACRIS?
Alacris Theranostics is a Berlin-based company specialising in comprehensive molecular analysis and precision oncology. Its Comprehensive Molecular Tumor Analysis (CMTA) looks much more deeply at the individual biology of a tumour than the basic information we received when Stu was diagnosed.
The current Alacris-CMTA combines DNA sequencing with RNA analysis to build a detailed molecular profile of an individual tumour. Depending on the analysis, this can include information about mutations, tumour mutational burden, gene amplifications and deletions, gene fusions, gene expression, the tumour microenvironment and immune-cell infiltration. The resulting information is interpreted and presented in a report designed to help clinicians understand potentially relevant biomarkers, treatments and clinical trials.
In very basic terms, rather than simply saying “this is glioblastoma”, the idea is to ask: “What is actually happening inside this particular glioblastoma?”
And then: “Does any of that information give us something we can potentially target?”
OUR EXPERIENCE
We used the raw sequencing data generated from Stu’s tumour through CeGaT and sent this to Alacris for further analysis. The Alacris report gave us another layer of information about what was happening within Stu’s tumour and identified potentially relevant treatment options based on its molecular characteristics. The amount of information was enormous. And that was both the brilliant thing about it and the difficult thing about it.
We were trying to absorb information about mutations, genes, pathways, drugs and potential targets while also navigating standard treatment, researching additional options, caring for Stu and dealing with the small matter of our entire lives having been turned upside down by a glioblastoma diagnosis. The Alacris information also became part of the data we later shared with other doctors, including Dr Matt Williams and Dr Castro at Cellworks, as we tried to understand what the different results might mean for Stu.
WHY WE DID IT
For us, this was about trying to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. Two people can both have glioblastoma without their tumours being molecularly identical. That seemed incredibly important to us. We wanted to understand whether there was anything unusual or potentially targetable within Stu’s tumour that might help us make more personalised treatment decisions. We also wanted as much information as possible to take to doctors who were willing to look beyond standard of care.
It didn’t mean every mutation had a drug. It didn’t mean every theoretically relevant drug would work. And it certainly didn’t give us a magic list of treatments. But it gave us considerably more information about Stu’s tumour than we had started with.
2026 UPDATE
THINGS HAVE MOVED ON.
Alacris is still providing comprehensive molecular tumour analysis and its technology has continued to develop since Stu’s analysis in 2021. Its current Alacris-CMTA service is described as Deep Comprehensive Genomic Profiling. It combines deep RNA analysis with whole-exome or whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics to create an interpreted molecular profile of an individual tumour.
The current analysis can include things such as:
- gene mutations
- tumour mutational burden
- chromosome alterations
- loss of heterozygosity
- gene amplifications and deletions
- gene fusions
- oncogenic transcript variants
- gene-expression information
- tumour subtype information
- the tumour microenvironment
- Immune-cell infiltration
- potentially relevant therapeutic options
The important bit for me is that Alacris isn’t simply generating raw sequencing data. The aim is to interpret the information and produce a report that can help a clinician make sense of the molecular characteristics of an individual patient’s tumour.
Alacris now also describes its work as combining genomic and transcriptomic data with advanced and AI-powered bioinformatics. That feels particularly significant to me because understanding the data was one of the hardest parts of doing this in 2021. If you are considering comprehensive molecular tumour profiling now, please use Alacris’s current information rather than relying on the exact process, technology, timing or costs from our experience.
HINDSIGHT
WHAT WE KNOW NOW THAT WE WISH WE'D KNOWN THEN.
Having the data and understanding the data are two very different things. This is probably the biggest thing I would say about our experience with molecular testing. By the end, we had an extraordinary amount of information about Stu’s tumour. We had data and reports from CeGaT, Alacris and Cellworks. We had information from different doctors. We had mutations, pathways, treatment suggestions and hundreds of pages of incredibly technical information.
The problem was that we weren’t oncologists, geneticists, bioinformaticians or scientists. We could read the reports. We could Google individual mutations. We could look up drugs. We could send everything to doctors.
What was much harder was understanding how all of the information fitted together. Was something genuinely significant or just interesting? Did two different reports support each other? Did one piece of information contradict another? Was a particular pathway actually relevant? Was a drug suggestion based on strong clinical evidence, early research or simply a theoretical molecular match?
We didn’t always know. And when your husband has glioblastoma, you don’t exactly have several spare years to acquire a degree in cancer genomics.
WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY NOW.
I would absolutely use AI to help me interrogate the information. I’ve since seen a patient use AI with this kind of medical and genomic data and the results have been incredible. Not because AI magically knows how to cure cancer. It doesn’t. And I would never use AI instead of an oncologist or ask it to decide what treatment somebody should have. But I would use it as a tool to help me understand what I was looking at. I would ask it to explain individual findings in normal language. I would use it to compare reports. I would ask where two sets of results appeared to overlap.
I would ask it to explain pathways and terminology I didn’t understand. I would ask it to distinguish between a molecular finding and the evidence for actually targeting that finding in glioblastoma.
And most importantly, I would use it to help me formulate much better questions to take back to the people who were qualified to advise us. That would have been enormously valuable. We had so much information in 2021. What we didn’t always have was a way of turning information into understanding. The technology has moved on considerably since then. Alacris itself now talks about AI-powered bioinformatics as part of its approach to turning complex molecular data into useful insights. For me, that makes this kind of testing potentially much easier for a patient or caregiver to engage with than it was when we were sitting at home trying to decipher hundreds of pages ourselves.
IF I WERE DOING THIS AGAIN.
I would investigate comprehensive molecular profiling much earlier. I would make sure I knew exactly what tumour tissue had been retained after surgery and how it was stored. I would collect every pathology report, scan report, blood result and piece of molecular data from the beginning. I would keep everything digitally organised in one place. I would ask for the raw data as well as the interpreted reports wherever possible. I would use AI to help me understand and organise the information. And then I would take that understanding back to an oncologist or molecular tumour specialist and ask better questions. Because one of the biggest lessons from all of this was that information is useful, but information you can actually understand and act on is considerably more useful.
CURRENT INFORMATION
Alacris continues to offer its Comprehensive Molecular Tumor Analysis for precision oncology. The current service combines comprehensive DNA and RNA analysis with bioinformatics to create an interpreted molecular profile intended to support clinicians in treatment planning. Alacris states that the CMTA must be ordered through a healthcare professional. For current information about the test, sample requirements, costs, turnaround times and how to access the service, please go directly to Alacris.
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