Personalized Detection of Circulating Tumor DNA Antedates Breast Cancer Metastatic Re
 

Personalized Detection of Circulating Tumor DNA Antedates Breast Cancer Metastatic Recurrence

https://clincancerres.aacrjournals.o...ent/25/14/4255

Translational Relevance

Currently, there are no sensitive and specific clinical tests available to follow patients with breast cancer after primary treatment. We developed a patient-specific method to analyze circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) that allows for monitoring of these patients regardless of molecular genotype. In this study, we analyzed 208 blood samples from 49 patients monitored longitudinally for up to 4 years after completion of adjuvant chemotherapy to determine whether personalized ctDNA assays can allow for more effective monitoring than current clinical tests such as CA 15-3. Remarkably, for the patients that recurred, our test detected molecular relapse up to 2 years ahead of clinical relapse (median, 8.9 months) with 89% sensitivity and 100% specificity. This may provide a critical window of opportunity for additional therapeutic intervention.