Liquid Biopsy ctDNA Prediction of Lung Cancer Relapse “Ready for Prime Time”

CAMBRIDGE, UK—OncTimesTalk visits genetics pioneer Nitzan Rosenfeld PhD, group leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, to learn about giant steps forward for lung cancer management—reported in the Annals of Oncology—made with the sensitive assay for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) they developed (2022; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2022.02.007). Rosenfeld tells reporter Peter Goodwin about the origins of his group’s genomic detection platform, and about the advances the assay has made for predicting non-small cell lung cancer relapse after primary treatment. He explains how the method provides a much clearer picture of whether the patient has residual disease, while also answering questions about what actionable mutations there are for patients with advanced cancers.