Liquid Biopsy for Disease Monitoring in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The Link between Biology and the Clinic

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Fernandes, MGO (Author) FMUP; Sousa, C (Author) Other; Reis, JP (Author) Other; Cruz Martins, N (Author) Other; Moura, CS (Author) Other; Guimaraes, S (Author) Other; Justino, A (Author) Other; Pina, MJ (Author) Other; Magalhaes, A (Author) Other; Queiroga, H (Author) Other; Marques, JA (Author) Other; Machado JC (Author) FMUP; Costa, JL (Author) Other; Hespanhol V (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Cells

Vol. 10

Final page: 1912

ISSN: 2073-4409

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citations

Scopus - 3 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00V-7SZ

DOI: 10.3390/cells10081912

Abstract (EN): Introduction: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis offers a non-invasive method to identify sensitising and resistance mutations in advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) is a valuable tool for mutations detection and disease ' s clonal monitoring. Material and methods: An amplicon-based targeted gene NGS panel was used to analyse 101 plasma samples of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with known oncogenic mutations, mostly EGFR mutations, serially collected at different clinically relevant time points of the disease. Results: The variant allelic frequency (VAF) monitoring in consecutive plasma samples demonstrated different molecular response and progression patterns. The decrease in or the clearance of the mutant alleles was associated with response and the increase in or the emergence of novel alterations with progression. At the best response, the median VAF was 0% (0.0% to 3.62%), lower than that at baseline, with a median of 0.53% (0.0% to 9.9%) (p = 0.004). At progression, the VAF was significantly higher (median 4.67; range: 0.0-36.9%) than that observed at the best response (p = 0.001) and baseline (p = 0.006). These variations anticipated radiographic changes in most cases, with a median time of 0.86 months. Overall, the VAF evolution of different oncogenic mutations predicts clinical outcomes. Conclusion: The targeted NGS of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has clinical utility to monitor treatment response in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 13