Caris Life Sciences Highlights the Importance of DPYD Testing in Colorectal Cancer During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Caris reinforces the value of Whole Exome Sequencing and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing testing for cancer patients

IRVING, Texas, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences^® (NASDAQ: CAI), a leading patient-centric, next-generation AI TechBio company and precision medicine pioneer, is recognizing Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month by highlighting the critical role of DPYD testing in helping to inform treatment for patients with colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer remains one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States and is a leading cause of cancer-related death. Recent American Cancer Society data underscore the ongoing burden of the disease, including rising incidence in younger adults, reinforcing the need for earlier detection, more personalized care and greater awareness of testing that may influence treatment decisions.

For many patients with colorectal cancer, fluoropyrimidine-based therapies such as capecitabine and fluorouracil remain a cornerstone of treatment. However, certain inherited variants in the DPYD gene can reduce dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) enzyme activity, increasing the risk of severe, and in some cases life-threatening, toxicity from these common therapies. The FDA has updated safety labeling for capecitabine and 5-FU to increase awareness of DPD deficiency risks and advises testing patients for genetic variants of DPYD prior to treatment initiation unless immediate therapy is necessary.

Despite growing clinical awareness and guideline support for considering DPYD testing prior to treatment, screening remains inconsistent across care settings, leaving many patients and providers unaware of a risk that can have profound clinical consequences. Caris addresses this gap by incorporating DPYD reporting into Caris Assure®, its blood-based Whole Exome Sequencing and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing molecular profiling assay. This allows clinicians to assess not only tumor biomarkers, but also clinically relevant inherited variants from a single blood draw, streamlining care while expanding the actionable information available before treatment begins. By identifying inherited variants in the DPYD gene before therapy, physicians may be able to reduce the risk of serious toxicity associated with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapies.

"In precision oncology, treatment selection is not only about identifying what may work but also understanding factors that may affect how safely a patient can receive therapy," said Caris President David Spetzler, MS, PhD, MBA. "During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, it is important to recognize that DPYD testing can provide clinically meaningful information before treatment begins, helping clinicians make more informed decisions for patients who may be candidates for fluoropyrimidine-based therapy."

As the oncology community continues to advance more individualized care, Caris believes awareness of pharmacogenomic factors like DPYD status is an important part of the broader precision medicine conversation in colorectal cancer. Increasing education around biomarker-informed care may help support safer treatment planning and improve the patient's experience.

About Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences® (Caris) is a leading, patient-centric, next-generation AI TechBio company and precision medicine pioneer actively developing and commercializing innovative solutions to transform healthcare. Through comprehensive molecular profiling (Whole Genome, Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing), advanced AI and machine learning, Caris has created the large-scale, multimodal clinico-genomic database and computing capability needed to analyze and further unravel the molecular complexity of disease. This convergence of next-generation sequencing, AI and machine learning technologies and high-performance computing provides a differentiated platform for developing the latest generation of advanced precision medicine diagnostic solutions for early detection, diagnosis, monitoring, therapy selection and drug development.  

Caris was founded with a vision to realize the potential of precision medicine to improve the human condition. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris has offices in Phoenix, New York, Cambridge (MA), Tokyo, Japan and Basel, Switzerland. Caris or its distributor partners provide services in the U.S. and other international markets.  

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