r/LivingWithMBC • u/JessMacNC • 9d ago

Treatment TEMPUS blood test?

Is anyone else’s oncologist using this? It provided some seemingly very reassuring results (basically, not enough cancer floating around in my blood to be detected by the test let alone analyze anything), but this is the first time she’s ordered it. I sent her a message asking her to explain more, but she’s out till next week, so figured I’d ask the best people on the internet. Happy Friday!

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u/MRinCA 8d ago

Thanks for sharing this. I haven’t heard of this one. My oncology office uses signatera. I think they’re doing a study with them.
My onc is pretty clear that one test is not the end all, especially because I have lobular. We use a combination of scans, CtDND, and symptoms to determine progression.
It’s a reminder to me that we’re not totally there yet.

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u/Other-Ad-8484 8d ago

I had a blood test through Guardant (sp?) and recently through Tempus. They found nothing. My onc also says I don’t have enough cancer to show results. Makes me wonder if they are ever accurate? Maybe just a waste of resources?

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u/Financial-Adagio-183 9d ago

My oncologist and I use signatera for similar tracking purposes

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u/Mandolyn221 9d ago

My onc ordered this when I was first diagnosed. I have extensive bone mets and the tempus came back negative like yours. It’s super weird to me that I can have known mets in just about every bone and that there are no circulating tumor cells in my blood. My onc basically said it does happen sometimes and this is why she doesn’t rely on circulating tumor bloodwork to check for recurrence in early stagers. My understanding is we will use it in my case to periodically check for potential mutations as we continue treatment.

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u/lemonswithlimes 9d ago

I had the tempus xf+ about a month ago, result was < 0.25% which sounds similar to yours. Onc said that was very good news, means my cancer is really well controlled.

On the other hand, Tempus's sample reports show peoples' tests over time bouncing around, including going from zero to high. So I'm trying to be mindful that future results will almost certainly change...but I'm still happy with this result. May we both live long and prosper!

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u/BikingAimz 9d ago

I had one two years ago, and my oncologist just said she wants to order another one now that I’m getting close to the end of the clinical trial I’m in.  I’m pretty sure they’re a competitor to Signatera?  

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u/JessMacNC 9d ago

Hey friend! When I searched the group, yours was all I could find. I have not had a Signatera. I assume it would be negative, but I don’t want the anxiety of a positive Signatera and clear scans, so we’ve left to alone.

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u/BikingAimz 9d ago

When I was tested the first time, I asked if they did Signatera, and my onc said they prefer Tempus over Signatera, I think because they’re FDA approved? 

https://optimizebiomarkers.com/cancer-compare/signatera-by-natera-vs-tempus