Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic Review
This systematic review investigates the potential of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a predictive biomarker in the management and prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA). PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials were searched until 7 January 2024. Se...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-04-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/4005 |
| _version_ | 1797212418708865024 |
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| author | Hugo C. Temperley Timothy Fannon Niall J. O’Sullivan Maeve O’Neill Benjamin M. Mac Curtain Charles Gilham Jacintha O’Sullivan Grainne O’Kane Brian J. Mehigan Sharon O’Toole John O. Larkin David Gallagher Paul McCormick Michael E. Kelly |
| author_facet | Hugo C. Temperley Timothy Fannon Niall J. O’Sullivan Maeve O’Neill Benjamin M. Mac Curtain Charles Gilham Jacintha O’Sullivan Grainne O’Kane Brian J. Mehigan Sharon O’Toole John O. Larkin David Gallagher Paul McCormick Michael E. Kelly |
| author_sort | Hugo C. Temperley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This systematic review investigates the potential of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a predictive biomarker in the management and prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA). PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials were searched until 7 January 2024. Selection criteria included research articles exploring ctDNA in the context of anal cancer treatment response, recurrence risk assessment, and consideration of salvage surgery. A total of eight studies were therefore included in the final review, examining a total of 628 patients. These studies focused on three main themes: SCCA diagnosis and staging, treatment response, and patient outcomes. Significant heterogeneity was observed in terms of patient cohort, study methodology, and ctDNA biomarkers. Four studies provided information on the sensitivity of ctDNA biomarkers in SCCA, with a range of 82–100%. Seven studies noted a correlation between pre-treatment ctDNA levels and SCCA disease burden, suggesting that ctDNA could play a role as a biomarker for the staging of SCCA. Across all seven studies with paired pre- and post-treatment ctDNA samples, a trend was seen towards decreasing ctDNA levels post-treatment, with specific identification of a ‘fast elimination’ group who achieve undetectable ctDNA levels prior to the end of treatment and may be less likely to experience treatment failure. Residual ctDNA detection post-treatment was associated with poorer patient prognosis. This systematic review identifies the broad potential of ctDNA as a useful and decisive tool in the management of SCCA. Further analysis of ctDNA biomarkers that include larger patient cohorts is required in order to clearly evaluate their potential role in clinical decision-making processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:42:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33f2bdf17f874abcb7b231b92804ee81 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:42:04Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-33f2bdf17f874abcb7b231b92804ee812024-04-12T13:20:23ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672024-04-01257400510.3390/ijms25074005Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic ReviewHugo C. Temperley0Timothy Fannon1Niall J. O’Sullivan2Maeve O’Neill3Benjamin M. Mac Curtain4Charles Gilham5Jacintha O’Sullivan6Grainne O’Kane7Brian J. Mehigan8Sharon O’Toole9John O. Larkin10David Gallagher11Paul McCormick12Michael E. Kelly13Department of Radiology, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Surgery, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Radiology, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Surgery, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Surgery, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Radiation Oncology, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandTrinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute, Trinity College, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Medical Oncology, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Surgery, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandTrinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute, Trinity College, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Surgery, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Medical Oncology, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Surgery, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Surgery, St. James’s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, IrelandThis systematic review investigates the potential of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a predictive biomarker in the management and prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA). PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials were searched until 7 January 2024. Selection criteria included research articles exploring ctDNA in the context of anal cancer treatment response, recurrence risk assessment, and consideration of salvage surgery. A total of eight studies were therefore included in the final review, examining a total of 628 patients. These studies focused on three main themes: SCCA diagnosis and staging, treatment response, and patient outcomes. Significant heterogeneity was observed in terms of patient cohort, study methodology, and ctDNA biomarkers. Four studies provided information on the sensitivity of ctDNA biomarkers in SCCA, with a range of 82–100%. Seven studies noted a correlation between pre-treatment ctDNA levels and SCCA disease burden, suggesting that ctDNA could play a role as a biomarker for the staging of SCCA. Across all seven studies with paired pre- and post-treatment ctDNA samples, a trend was seen towards decreasing ctDNA levels post-treatment, with specific identification of a ‘fast elimination’ group who achieve undetectable ctDNA levels prior to the end of treatment and may be less likely to experience treatment failure. Residual ctDNA detection post-treatment was associated with poorer patient prognosis. This systematic review identifies the broad potential of ctDNA as a useful and decisive tool in the management of SCCA. Further analysis of ctDNA biomarkers that include larger patient cohorts is required in order to clearly evaluate their potential role in clinical decision-making processes.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/4005ctDNAanal cancersalvage surgerytranslational oncologysurgical oncology |
| spellingShingle | Hugo C. Temperley Timothy Fannon Niall J. O’Sullivan Maeve O’Neill Benjamin M. Mac Curtain Charles Gilham Jacintha O’Sullivan Grainne O’Kane Brian J. Mehigan Sharon O’Toole John O. Larkin David Gallagher Paul McCormick Michael E. Kelly Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic Review International Journal of Molecular Sciences ctDNA anal cancer salvage surgery translational oncology surgical oncology |
| title | Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Assessing Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a Biomarker for Anal Cancer Management: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | assessing circulating tumour dna ctdna as a biomarker for anal cancer management a systematic review |
| topic | ctDNA anal cancer salvage surgery translational oncology surgical oncology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/4005 |
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