Kuligina, E. S., Yanus, G. A., Martianov , A. S., Gorgul, Y. A., Stepanova, E. O., Moiseenko, F. V., & Imyanitov, E. N. (2023). Circulating Tumor DNA as an Early Biomarker of Efficacy of Targeted and Chemotherapy. Voprosy Onkologii, 69(5), 796–804. https://doi.org/10.37469/0507-3758-2023-69-5-796-804

Abstract

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) concentration in the blood is a sensitive and specific marker for real-time monitoring of tumor dynamics. Quantitative ctDNA analysis allows early assessment of the tumor's response to therapy, with the non-invasive procedure (liquid biopsy) being crucial in cases of limited accessibility or multiple tumor sites. Notably, changes in «circulating» mutations comprehensively reflect neoplastic clone evolution and cell adaptation to drug treatment, facilitating timely therapeutic adjustments before clinical progression. Numerous clinical trials on ctDNA dynamics in patients receiving targeted or chemotherapy have highlighted its prognostic and predictive value. This emphasizes the increasing role of liquid biopsy in guiding choice of strategy at all stages of treatment: from diagnosis to patient selection for targeted or immunotherapy based on tumor molecular properties, drug efficacy monitoring, determination of the optimal duration of therapy and diagnosis of recurrence. This review summarizes the current data on ctDNA's benefits and limitations as a clinically significant rapid biomarker for assessing anti-tumor therapy efficacy in major cancer sites such as colorectal, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate cancers, etc.

https://doi.org/10.37469/0507-3758-2023-69-5-796-804

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