scholarly journals Utility of circulating tumor DNA for detection and monitoring of endometrial cancer recurrence and progression

Author(s):  
Esther L. Moss ◽  
Diviya N. Gorsia ◽  
Anna Collins ◽  
Pavandeep Sandhu ◽  
Nalini Foreman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTDespite the increasing incidence of endometrial cancer (EC) worldwide and the poor overall survival of patients who recur, no reliable biomarker exists for detecting and monitoring EC recurrence and progression during routine follow-up. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a sensitive method for monitoring cancer activity and stratifying patients that are likely to respond to therapy. As a pilot study, we investigated the utility of ctDNA for detecting and monitoring EC recurrence and progression in 13 patients using targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) and personalized ctDNA assays. Using tNGS, at least 1 somatic mutation at a variant allele frequency (VAF) >20% was detected in 69% (9/13) of patient tumors. The four patients with no detectable tumor mutations at >20% VAF were whole exome sequenced, with all four harboring mutations in genes not analyzed by tNGS. Analysis of matched and longitudinal plasma DNA revealed earlier detection of EC recurrence and progression and dynamic kinetics of ctDNA levels reflecting treatment response. We also detected acquired high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) in ctDNA from one patient whose primary tumor was MSI stable. Our study suggests that ctDNA analysis, and in particular MSI analysis in ctDNA could become a useful biomarker for early detection and monitoring of EC recurrence and progression.

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2231
Author(s):  
Esther L. Moss ◽  
Diviya N. Gorsia ◽  
Anna Collins ◽  
Pavandeep Sandhu ◽  
Nalini Foreman ◽  
...  

Despite the increasing incidence of endometrial cancer (EC) worldwide and the poor overall survival of patients who recur, no reliable biomarker exists for detecting and monitoring EC recurrence and progression during routine follow-up. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a sensitive method for monitoring cancer activity and stratifying patients that are likely to respond to therapy. As a pilot study, we investigated the utility of ctDNA for detecting and monitoring EC recurrence and progression in 13 patients, using targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) and personalized ctDNA assays. Using tNGS, at least one somatic mutation at a variant allele frequency (VAF) > 20% was detected in 69% (9/13) of patient tumors. The four patients with no detectable tumor mutations at >20% VAF were whole exome sequenced, with all four harboring mutations in genes not analyzed by tNGS. Analysis of matched and longitudinal plasma DNA revealed earlier detection of EC recurrence and progression and dynamic kinetics of ctDNA levels reflecting treatment response. We also detected acquired high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) in ctDNA from one patient whose primary tumor was MSI stable. Our study suggests that ctDNA analysis could become a useful biomarker for early detection and monitoring of EC recurrence. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings and to explore their potential implications for patient management.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Imperial ◽  
Marjan Nazer ◽  
Zaheer Ahmed ◽  
Audrey E. Kam ◽  
Timothy J. Pluard ◽  
...  

Tumor heterogeneity, especially intratumoral heterogeneity, is a primary reason for treatment failure. A single biopsy may not reflect the complete genomic architecture of the tumor needed to make therapeutic decisions. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is believed to overcome these limitations. We analyzed concordance between ctDNA and whole-exome sequencing/whole-genome sequencing (WES/WGS) of tumor samples from patients with breast (n = 12), gastrointestinal (n = 20), lung (n = 19), and other tumor types (n = 13). Correlation in the driver, hotspot, and actionable alterations was studied. Three cases in which more-in-depth genomic analysis was required have been presented. A total 58% (37/64) of patients had at least one concordant mutation. Patients who had received systemic therapy before tissue next-generation sequencing (NGS) and ctDNA analysis showed high concordance (78% (21/27) vs. 43% (12/28) p = 0.01, respectively). Obtaining both NGS and ctDNA increased actionable alterations from 28% (18/64) to 52% (33/64) in our patients. Twenty-one patients had mutually exclusive actionable alterations seen only in either tissue NGS or ctDNA samples. Somatic hotspot mutation analysis showed significant discordance between tissue NGS and ctDNA analysis, denoting significant tumor heterogeneity in these malignancies. Increased tissue tumor mutation burden (TMB) positively correlated with the number of ctDNA mutations in patients who had received systemic therapy, but not in treatment-naïve patients. Prior systemic therapy and TMB may affect concordance and should be taken into consideration in future studies. Incorporating driver, actionable, and hotspot analysis may help to further refine the correlation between these two platforms. Tissue NGS and ctDNA are complimentary, and if done in conjunction, may increase the detection rate of actionable alterations and potentially therapeutic targets.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Vandekerkhove ◽  
Jean-Michel Lavoie ◽  
Matti Annala ◽  
Andrew J. Murtha ◽  
Nora Sundahl ◽  
...  

AbstractMolecular stratification can improve the management of advanced cancers, but requires relevant tumor samples. Metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) is poised to benefit given a recent expansion of treatment options and its high genomic heterogeneity. We profile minimally-invasive plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) samples from 104 mUC patients, and compare to same-patient tumor tissue obtained during invasive surgery. Patient ctDNA abundance is independently prognostic for overall survival in patients initiating first-line systemic therapy. Importantly, ctDNA analysis reproduces the somatic driver genome as described from tissue-based cohorts. Furthermore, mutation concordance between ctDNA and matched tumor tissue is 83.4%, enabling benchmarking of proposed clinical biomarkers. While 90% of mutations are identified across serial ctDNA samples, concordance for serial tumor tissue is significantly lower. Overall, our exploratory analysis demonstrates that genomic profiling of ctDNA in mUC is reliable and practical, and mitigates against disease undersampling inherent to studying archival primary tumor foci. We urge the incorporation of cell-free DNA profiling into molecularly-guided clinical trials for mUC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Feng ◽  
Nan Jia ◽  
Haining Jiao ◽  
Jun Chen ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Currently, there is no reliable blood-based marker to track tumor recurrence in endometrial cancer (EC) patients. Liquid biopsies, specifically, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis emerged as a way to monitor tumor metastasis. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of ctDNA in recurrence surveillance and prognostic evaluation of high-risk EC. Methods Tumor tissues from nine high-risk EC patients were collected during primary surgery and tumor DNA was subjected to next generation sequencing to obtain the initial mutation spectrum using a 78 cancer-associated gene panel. Baseline and serial post-operative plasma samples were collected and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays for patient-specific mutations were developed to track the mutations in the ctDNA in serial plasma samples. Log-rank test was used to assess the association between detection of ctDNA before or after surgery and disease-free survival. Results Somatic mutations were identified in all of the cases. The most frequent mutated genes were PTEN, FAT4, ARID1A, TP53, ZFHX3, ATM, and FBXW7. For each patient, personalized ddPCR assays were designed for one-to-three high-frequent mutations. DdPCR analysis and tumor panel sequencing had a high level of agreement in the assessment of the mutant allele fractions in baseline tumor tissue DNA. CtDNA was detected in 67% (6 of 9) of baseline plasma samples, which was not predictive of disease-free survival (DFS). CtDNA was detected in serial post-operative plasma samples (ctDNA tracking) of 44% (4 of 9) of the patients, which predicted tumor relapse. The DFS was a median of 9 months (ctDNA detected) versus median DFS undefined (ctDNA not detected), with a hazard ratio of 17.43 (95% CI, 1.616–188.3). The sensitivity of post-operative ctDNA detection in estimating tumor relapse was 100% and specificity was 83.3%, which was superior to CA125 or HE4. Conclusions Personalized ctDNA detection was effective and stable for high-risk EC. CtDNA tracking in post-operative plasma is valuable for predicting tumor recurrence.


Author(s):  
Austin K Mattox ◽  
Beibei Yang ◽  
Christopher Douville ◽  
Sheng-fu Lo ◽  
Daniel Sciubba ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Chordomas are the most common primary spinal column malignancy in the United States. The aim of this study was to determine whether chordomas may be detected by evaluating mutations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Methods 32 patients with a biopsy-confirmed diagnosis of chordoma had blood drawn pre-operatively and/or at follow up appointments. Mutations in the primary tumor were identified by whole exome sequencing and liquid biopsy by ddPCR and/or RACE-Seq was used to detect one or more of these mutations in plasma ctDNA at concurrent or later time points. Results 87.1% of patients were ctDNA positive at the time of initial blood draw (p < 0.001). Follow up blood draws in twenty of the patients suggest that ctDNA levels may reflect the clinical status of the disease. Patients with positive ctDNA levels were more likely to have greater mutant allele frequencies in their primary tumors (p = 0.004) and undergo radiotherapy (p = 0.02), and the presence of ctDNA may correlate with response to systemic chemotherapy and/or disease recurrence. Conclusions Detection of ctDNA mutations may allow for the detection and monitoring of disease progression for chordomas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-132
Author(s):  
A. S. Popova ◽  
M. Yu. Fedyanin ◽  
I. A. Pokataev ◽  
S. A. Tyulyandin

The method of liquid biopsy allows detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patient blood, but the clinical significance of this approach in pancreatic cancer is still unclear. In this regard, we have carried out a meta-analysis of the studies dedicated to the predictive significance of ctDNA in pancreatic cancer. Materials and methods.We carried out the search for the articles and abstracts in PubMed, ASCO and ESMO databases published before February 2020, containing data about the connection between ctDNA and the prognosis of pancreatic cancer. The exclusion criteria were the studies including 10 or less participating patients, absence of the data about the relative risk of mortality and/or progression, and the 95% confidence interval. The meta-analysis was carried out by using the Review Manager software (RevMan), Version 5.3. Results.There were no significant systematic errors associated with the publications. The presence of ctDNA in patient blood showed poor overall survival of patients (odds ratio OR 2.21, 95% confidence interval CI 1.35-3.33,p=0.001) regardless of the prevalence of the disease. In case of the resectable process, the detection of ctDNA in patient blood both before and after surgery was a factor of worse progression-free survival (OR 2.32, 95% CI 1.543.5,p0.001 and OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.635.76,р=0.0005 and overall survival (OR2.01, 95% CI 1.123.63,р=0,02 and OR 3.39, 95% CI 2.125.44,р0.00001, respectively). Conclusions.The detection of ctDNA in the bloodstream in pancreatic cancer patients is a factor of poor prognosis in both localized and advanced cancer. It is very important to make further prospective studies to develop the optimal protocol for detecting ctDNA in patient bloodstream.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii165-ii165
Author(s):  
Hao Duan ◽  
Zhenqiang He ◽  
Zhenghe Chen ◽  
Yonggao Mou

Abstract Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been demonstrated as a better source of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) than plasma for brain tumors. However, it is unclear whether whole exome sequencing (WES) is qualified for detection of ctDNA in CSF. The aim of this study was to determine if assessment of ctDNA in CSF by WES is a feasible approach to detect genomic alterations of glioblastoma. CSFs of ten glioblastoma patients were collected pre-operatively at the Department of Neurosurgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. ctDNA in CSF and genome DNA in the resected tumor were extracted and subjected to WES. The identified glioblastoma-associated mutations from ctDNA in CSF and genome DNA in the resected tumor were compared. Due to the ctDNA in CSF was unqualified for exome sequencing for one patient, nine patients were included into the final analysis. More glioblastoma-associated mutations tended to be detected in CSF comparing with the corresponding tumor tissue samples (3.56±0.75 vs. 2.22±0.32, P=0.097), while the statistical significance was limited by the small sample size. The average mutation frequencies were similar in CSF and tumor tissue samples (74.12% ± 6.03% vs. 73.83% ± 5.95%, P = 0.924). The R132H mutation of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and the G34V mutation of H3F3A which had been reported in the pathological diagnoses were also detected from ctDNA in CSF by WES. Patients who received temozolomide chemotherapy previously or those whose tumor involved subventricular zone tended to harbor more mutations in their CSF. Assessment of ctDNA in CSF by WES is a feasible approach to detect genomic alterations of glioblastoma, which may provide useful information for the decision of treatment strategy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (13) ◽  
pp. 849-858
Author(s):  
Jinling Zhang ◽  
Xueli Zhang ◽  
Shuwei Shen

Aim: Circulating tumor DNA is promising for routine monitoring of breast cancer. Noninvasive testing allows regular probing using plasma and urine samples. Methods: Peripheral blood and simultaneous urine collection from patients were quantified. Concordance between methods were made. Serial time-point measurements were correlated to disease outcome. Results: Index measurements demonstrate over 90% concordance with biopsy. Receiver operating characteristics curves showed over 0.95 for both plasma and urine results comparing with controls. Patients with lower risk of relapse experienced greater declines in detected DNA levels. Maximal declines were registered at 4.0- and 6.8-fold for plasma and urine results, respectively. Conclusion: Measuring and monitoring DNA levels complement existing testing regimes and provides better risk profiling of patients for possible relapse.


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