FOR PATIENTS & CAREGIVERS
You Deserve Complete Answers
After a cancer diagnosis, every decision feels overwhelming, but know that you do not have to navigate this process alone. Caris can help you and your care team gain insight into your individual cancer at the molecular level so that each treatment decision is informed by your unique biology.
Important Reminders After a Difficult Diagnosis
Whether the diagnosis was for you, your spouse, your child or someone else you love, cancer changes everything. Here are three important reminders as you navigate this new reality:
Cancer eventually touches nearly every family, every community, in some way. Through their own experiences, millions of people worldwide understand exactly what you are feeling in this moment; know that you do not have to navigate this alone. Visit our Patient Stories.
Answers exist
Every cancer has its own molecular blueprint. Understanding yours can open doors to potential therapies, clinical trials and treatment paths you might not even have known were possible. Here are some questions to consider when discussing treatment with your physician.
We’re on your team
Caris was founded for one reason: to improve the human condition. We work right alongside your physician, delivering molecular insights that help them personalize your care. If your physician has ordered molecular testing from Caris, please complete the electronic consent form.
Your Treatment Path
A sample provides more context
Your physician orders a Caris test using a tissue sample or blood draw (or a pathology slide, for certain breast cancers). The sample is analyzed in our laboratory, where medical experts examine the biomarkers driving your specific cancer.
Your molecular blueprint takes shape
Caris delivers a detailed report to your physician that reveals the DNA, RNA and protein alterations unique to your cancer. Your care team will use these insights to build your treatment plan.
You move forward with clarity
With a clearer picture, your physician can identify therapies with potential benefit, flag those unlikely to help and connect you to any applicable clinical trials. You stay in control throughout the process — informed, supported and part of every decision.
FIND YOUR TEST
Identifying the Right Test
Because every cancer is unique, Caris offers testing options appropriate for a range of different diagnoses and situations. Talk to your physician to help determine which test is right for you.
Solid tumor: tissue profiling
MI Cancer Seek®
For: Patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors (adult or pediatric, ages 1+)
When: Your physician wants the most comprehensive molecular picture from a tumor tissue sample
Key benefit: 23,000+ genes analyzed. FDA-approved companion diagnostics. Results in 6–9 days
“When tissue is available, this is the most complete answer Caris can provide.”
Solid tumor: blood profiling
Caris Assure®
For: Situations where tissue is limited or unavailable, or when disease has progressed
When: A simple blood draw can provide molecular insights to guide your next treatment decision
Key benefit: Whole blood analysis (plasma + buffy coat). Fewer false positives. Pharmacogenomic safety insights included
“A blood draw that goes deeper than other liquid biopsies — because your whole blood tells a fuller story.”
Early-stage breast cancer
Caris MI Clarity™
For: HR+/HER2-, node-negative breast cancer patients at diagnosis
When: You and your physician need clarity on early and late recurrence risk before choosing a treatment path
Key benefit: AI-powered risk stratification from a pathology slide. No genomic sequencing required. Results in 1–3 days
“See both windows of recurrence risk — at Years 0-5 and Years 5-15 — so you can plan with confidence from the start.”
Myeloid malignancies
Caris ChromoSeq™
For: Patients with AML, MDS, MPN or suspected myeloid disease
When: Diagnosis, risk stratification or treatment selection requires a complete genomic picture — quickly
Key benefit: One whole-genome test replaces multiple fragmented workflows. Average 7-day turnaround
“One test. One report. The complete molecular picture your care team needs.”
Only your physician can order Caris testing. This information may help you understand your options and help guide your discussion during your next appointment.
ACCESS & AFFORDABILITY
Testing Should Never Be Out of Reach
We believe every patient deserves access to the best molecular insights available. Caris maintains in-network coverage with most major commercial payers, including Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Financial assistance programs are available for qualifying patients.
- Most patients pay less than $100 out of pocket
- Qualifying Medicare/Medicaid patients may have no out-of-pocket responsibility
- Our team helps with insurance questions — so you can focus on your health
Patient Stories
Statistics tell part of the story. These patients tell the rest.
Knowledge is power. Testing is power.
Maggie McCloskey
Stage IV Lung Cancer
I want people to know that molecular profiling is so important when you have cancer, to know what treatment options you have.
Christie Bevington
Lung Cancer Survivor
Patient & Caregiver Educational Videos
Learning about molecular science can be overwhelming; these short videos break down the basics.
UNDERSTANDING
Cancer Biomarkers
Biomarkers are molecules that indicate a normal or abnormal process occurring in your body and may be a sign of an underlying condition or disease.
Learn More About Caris
Molecular Profiling
How Molecular Profiling Works
Caris helps improve the lives of thousands of patients each day through the analysis of DNA and RNA by whole exome and whole transcriptome sequencing (WES/WTS) in tissue or blood, plus immunohistochemistry (IHC) of key proteins in tissue specimens.
FOR PATIENTS
Frequently Asked Questions
Caris molecular profiling is comprehensive genomic testing designed to help your doctor determine the best treatment plan for you. Our comprehensive molecular profiling approach assesses biomarkers found in your blood or tissue to reveal a molecular blueprint to guide more precise and individualized treatment decisions. A Caris report is generated for each patient and may help your doctor personalize treatment specific to your sample.
Caris molecular profiling uses multiple profiling technologies to decode cancer and better understand the biology driving cell growth. The biomarker results, or molecular blueprint, from a sample may determine how you respond to cancer treatments or if you qualify for clinical trials.
The results of these tests reveal your sample’s specific molecular biomarkers or targets, which provide molecular insights to help doctors personalize treatment to your unique cancer. Caris reports help doctors:
- Navigate among therapies with potential benefit
- Avoid certain therapies with unlikely benefit
- Identify clinical trials trial opportunities
The report is a tool that provides a molecular blueprint to help your physician evaluate and guide more precise and individualized treatment decisions. You and your physician will determine your treatment plan, which will be based on many factors that may include the report, availability of cancer therapeutics, medical history and other clinical factors.
Yes, the report identifies clinical trial opportunities that are currently enrolling patients based on the unique biomarkers in your sample. Your physician will determine if any of these trials may be right for you.
A tissue or blood sample is collected either during a routine blood draw, during a biopsy, or during the surgical removal of your tissue. Your physician may wish to obtain a more recent sample from you as biomarkers may change over time and with treatment.
Caris molecular testing is performed in Phoenix, Arizona. Our state-of-the-art laboratories meet and exceed industry standards (CLIA, CAP, ISO 15189 and NY State approved/certified) and are staffed by a team of medical doctors, scientists and licensed technologists.
Once our laboratory receives your specimen and required documentation, results will be delivered directly to your physician for review in typically less than two weeks.
Caris will bill your insurance company directly as an independent service provider and work directly with them to process claims. Insurance companies usually take 60-90 days to respond to claims from Caris. You may receive an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) during this time, but this is NOT a bill. According to the terms of your healthcare plan, a bill for the deductible, co-insurance, or co-payment may be sent once the insurance company has processed the claim.
Your physician will recommend the test based on your cancer type, stage and where you are in treatment. MI Cancer Seek® is typically used for solid tumors when tissue is available. Caris Assure® is used when a blood-based test is needed. Caris MI Clarity™ is for early-stage HR+/HER2- breast cancer. Caris ChromoSeq™ is for myeloid malignancies.
Visit our Find Your Test section to learn more, then talk to your physician about what’s right for you.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
You do not have to have all the answers today. Start with just one conversation, whether that is with your physician, with our team or by reading the stories of patients whohave been where you are.