The relevance of early monitoring of the circulating tumor cells (CTC) in patients with advanced breast cancer and the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) as a paradigm shift in the treatment of colorectal cancer have been the protagonists of one of the presentations framed in the VIII Liquid Biopsy Symposium.
On this last point, Carlos Hagen, medical director of Palex Medical and coordinator of the Amife Precision Medicine Group, has focused his intervention on the importance of liquid biopsy in different types of cancer, especially colorectal. “We have to consider the clinical utility and the level of evidence, we need these tests to be safe and have high sensitivity”, Hagen acknowledged.
Referring to patients in phase III studies, the medical director of Palex Medical explains that they are offered chemotherapy, but 60 percent of these patients could be cured with surgery. “We need more and better diagnostic tools and liquid biopsy can help, even to detect MRD”, he pointed out.
Despite this, Hagen recalled in his speech that studies are needed to support the high level of evidence of liquid biopsy for this detection. He has also explained that MRD can involve NGS sequencing, although it presents different goals and challenges.
Among other conclusions, he has highlighted that the performance parameterssuch as sensitivity and specificity, are relevant especially in the early stages of the disease.
To conclude, he has pointed out that MRD applied to CRCs “can provide answers to key questions through a therapeutic continuum”.
advanced breast cancer
Referring to the relevance of early monitoring of CTC in patients with advanced breast cancer, Thomas Friedl, from the University Hospital Ulm, in Germany, has explained the results of a study, in which he has participated, in which they support the clinical efficiency of CTCs.
Succes-A, which is the name of this study, confirms that, at a median of 28 days after treatment initiation, follow-up CTC assessments strongly predict overall survival.
“Patients who responded to CTCs had a overall survival significantly higher,” Friedl said, adding that early control of treatment “is predictive for overall survival in all tumor subtypes and in patients treated with chemotherapy.”
These results provide strong evidence for the clinical validation of CTC monitoring as a marker of early response to treatment in advanced breast cancer and suggest the potential for clinical utility”, he concluded.
