On September 16, an evening will be held in Nicosia in support of the development of liquid biopsy for childhood tumors

On September 16, at the Old Town Hall of Nicosia, the Nicholas Zoe Foundation together with Boston Children’s Hospital will host the event “Golden Effort — from Cyprus to Boston” under the patronage of President Nikos Christodoulides.

The Nicholas Zoe Foundation, established in 2023 by Alexia Potamiti in memory of her son Nicholas Artemiou, has already allocated over $200,000 to research in Boston and aims to raise $500,000 to accelerate the introduction of liquid biopsy into clinical practice. At the event in Nicosia, the work of Mark Fleming, pathologist and head of the Laboratory for Molecular Pediatric Pathology (LaMPP) at Boston Children’s Hospital, will be presented. His team uses next-generation sequencing to detect tumor DNA in the blood and monitor treatment response.

According to Fleming, the blood-based tumor DNA test is aimed at juvenile solid tumors, including Ewing sarcoma, and in research studies has demonstrated the ability to detect relapse early and assess treatment response. The development of a clinically applicable version of the test is ongoing; the prototype is expected to be available within a year, after which clinical trials will begin.

The evening will also feature video addresses from President Christodoulides, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, and the President of the Cyprus Medical Association, Petros Agathangelou; the founder of the foundation will present the lecture “A Mother’s Path.” A charity auction curated by Maria Pafiti will take place. For the people of Cyprus, the partnership represents an opportunity to participate in international research, accelerate the adoption of new diagnostic methods, and improve access to specialized care.