The EU will invest another €6.3m into the blood diagnosis of primary breast cancer and rectal cancer.

In the 4-year Liquid biopsies and IMAging for improved cancer care (LIMA) project, Royal Philips will lead a SME consortium that combines liquid biospy of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

The project complements the €18.3m Cancer-ID project, in which Big Pharma-led technology companies and academic researchers seek to assess the feasibility of different liquid biopsy techniques to diagnose breast and colon cancer.

LIMA participants will combine Philips MRI know-how with cell-based and DNA-based liquid biopsy techniques to develop an integrated, clinically tested approach for personalised cancer treatment.

Within the Philips-led consortium diffusion weighted MRI and perfusion MRI, which provide imaging biomarkers in oncology, will be further developed for tumour detection and characterisation.