Tissue-Free ctDNA Assay May Help Identify Recurrence Risk in Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
A study published in JAMA Oncology indicates that a tissue-free ctDNA assay is highly effective at predicting recurrence risk in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer patients. This method allows for monitoring even when primary tumor tissue is unavailable, offering a viable alternative to traditional tumor-informed assays.
Why it matters
This advancement improves accessibility to molecular residual disease testing, potentially allowing for earlier clinical intervention in breast cancer patients.
A tissue-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assay was strongly prognostic for recurrence in patients treated for triple-negative breast cancer and provided a lead time to recurrence comparable to that of a multivariant tumor-informed assay, according to findings from a prognostic study published by Cunningham et al in JAMA Oncology .
“These findings support tissue-free ctDNA detection in the molecular residual disease [MRD] setting, allowing testing when archival tissue is unavailable,” the investigators wrote.
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