A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology characterized the relationship between diagnosis-to-treatment interval (DTI) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

In this study, researchers assessed pretreatment ctDNA levels in 267 patients with DLBCL across multiple centers in the United States and Europe. They linked pretreatment ctDNA levels with DTI, total metabolic tumor volumes (TMTVs), the International Prognostic Index (IPI), and outcome.

According to the results, shorter DTI was correlated with both advanced disease and higher IPI. Additionally, the investigators observed an inverse link between DTI and TMTV. Similarly, they noted, pretreatment ctDNA levels were significantly associated with stage, IPI, and TMTV, demonstrating that both DTI and ctDNA reflect disease burden. Overall, patients with shorter DTI had higher pretreatment ctDNA levels, and these levels predicted short DTI independent of the IPI.

Short DTI largely reflects baseline tumor burden, which can be objectively measured using pretreatment ctDNA levels,” the researchers concluded. “Pretreatment ctDNA levels therefore have utility for quantifying and guarding against selection biases in prospective DLBCL clinical trials.”

Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33909455/

 

Keywords:  lymphocyte count, lymphocytes, lymphoma