A recent systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) kinetics could predict survival outcomes in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing targeted therapy and immune checkpoint blockade therapy. The study highlighted the clinical relevance of monitoring ctDNA levels over time, suggesting that this noninvasive biomarker could aid clinicians in making timely therapeutic decisions. The analysis included 32 studies with 3,047 patients and found that ctDNA clearance or reduction correlated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
The meta-analysis revealed that a decrease or clearance of ctDNA was significantly associated with better PFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.32) and OS (HR = 0.31) across all study designs and patient subgroups. The findings were consistent for patients receiving both targeted therapy and immune checkpoint blockade therapy. The investigators concluded that serial ctDNA monitoring could serve as an early endpoint in clinical trials, supporting its potential use as a biomarker for survival outcomes in advanced NSCLC. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these results before routine clinical implementation.
Reference: Cipriano J. Can Plasma ctDNA Kinetics Predict Response to Systemic Therapy in Advanced NSCLC? The ASCO Post. Published March 6, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://ascopost.com/news/march-2025/can-plasma-ctdna-kinetics-predict-response-to-systemic-therapy-in-advanced-nsclc/
