TY - JOUR
T1 - Ultrasensitive ctDNA monitoring for organ preservation in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer
AU - Manca, Paolo
AU - Chen, Chin Tung
AU - Shah, Farheen
AU - Lee, Christina
AU - Domenico, Dylan
AU - Omer, Dana
AU - Gonzalez, Santiago
AU - De Bruijn, Ino
AU - Ahuno, Samuel
AU - Chatila, Walid K.
AU - Darmofal, Madison
AU - Tavassoly, Iman
AU - Widman, Adam J.
AU - Berger, Michael F.
AU - Loomis, Brian
AU - Papaemmanuil, Elli
AU - Yaeger, Rona
AU - Zviran, Asaf
AU - Garcia-Aguilar, Julio
AU - Sanchez-Vega, Francisco
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2026/12
Y1 - 2026/12
N2 - Optimal selection of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer for watch and wait (WW) and optimal management during follow-up remain challenging. We employed a primary-tumor-informed whole genome sequencing (WGS) assay to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and estimate tumor fraction (TF) before, during and after neoadjuvant therapy. ctDNA was detected in 95% of baseline samples, and TF was a significant baseline predictor of sustained clinical complete response (scCR). High TF during or after neoadjuvant therapy was associated with lower likelihood of scCR and higher risk of relapse. Very low TF during surveillance was detected in a large proportion of patients who did not experience a recurrence, suggesting the existence of persisting low amounts of ctDNA. WGS-based ctDNA assessment thus provides high sensitivity, which is crucial for treatment de-escalation, but additional research is needed to also ensure good specificity (the trial is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with the identifier NCT02008656).
AB - Optimal selection of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer for watch and wait (WW) and optimal management during follow-up remain challenging. We employed a primary-tumor-informed whole genome sequencing (WGS) assay to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and estimate tumor fraction (TF) before, during and after neoadjuvant therapy. ctDNA was detected in 95% of baseline samples, and TF was a significant baseline predictor of sustained clinical complete response (scCR). High TF during or after neoadjuvant therapy was associated with lower likelihood of scCR and higher risk of relapse. Very low TF during surveillance was detected in a large proportion of patients who did not experience a recurrence, suggesting the existence of persisting low amounts of ctDNA. WGS-based ctDNA assessment thus provides high sensitivity, which is crucial for treatment de-escalation, but additional research is needed to also ensure good specificity (the trial is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with the identifier NCT02008656).
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105026896244
U2 - 10.1038/s41698-025-01208-w
DO - 10.1038/s41698-025-01208-w
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105026896244
SN - 2397-768X
VL - 10
JO - npj Precision Oncology
JF - npj Precision Oncology
IS - 1
M1 - 8
ER -