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Review
. 2021 Dec 10;2(12):1292-1313.
doi: 10.1016/j.medj.2021.11.001.

Liquid biopsies for residual disease and recurrence

Jonathan Chee Ming Wan  1 , Tariq Imdadali Mughal  2 , Pedram Razavi  1 , Sarah-Jane Dawson  3 , Esther Louise Moss  4 , Ramaswamy Govindan  5 , Iain Beehuat Tan  6 , Yoon-Sim Yap  6 , William Allen Robinson  7 , Clive Dylan Morris  8 , Benjamin Besse  9 , Alberto Bardelli  10 , Jeanne Tie  11 , Scott Kopetz  12 , Nitzan Rosenfeld  13
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Liquid biopsies for residual disease and recurrence

Jonathan Chee Ming Wan et al. Med. .
Free article

Abstract

Detection of minimal residual disease in patients with cancer, who are in complete remission with no cancer cells detectable, has the potential to improve recurrence-free survival through treatment selection. Studies analyzing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with solid tumors suggest the potential to accurately predict and detect relapse, enabling treatment strategies that may improve clinical outcomes. Over the past decade, assays for ctDNA detection in plasma samples have steadily increased in sensitivity and specificity. These are applied for the detection of residual disease after treatment and for earlier detection of recurrence. Novel clinical trials are now assessing how assays for "residual disease and recurrence" (RDR) may influence current treatment paradigms and potentially change the landscape of risk classification for cancer recurrence. In this review, we appraise the progress of RDR detection using ctDNA and consider the emerging role of liquid biopsy in the monitoring and management of solid tumors.

Keywords: MRD; RDR; clinical trials; ctDNA; residual disease and recurrence; solid tumors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests J.C.M.W. and N.R. are inventors/contributors on patents covering methods for ctDNA detection (including WO/2020/104670). P.R. reports institutional research funding from Novartis, Grail/Illumina, ArcherDx/Invitae, Inivata, Epic Sciences, and Tempus; advisory board/honoraria from Novartis, AstraZeneca, Foundation Medicine, Pfizer, Epic Sciences, Inivata, and Natera; and consulting for Tempus. Y.-S.Y. reports honoraria/consultancy from Novartis, Lilly, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Eisai, MSD, and Specialised Therapeutics and travel support from Pfizer, Eisai, and Roche. S.-J.D. has received research funding from Roche Genentech and Cancer Therapeutics (CTx) CRC and has been an advisory board member for AstraZeneca and Inivata. S.K. serves on the advisory board and is a consultant for Inivata and Natera. N.R. and C.D.M. are officers of Inivata. T.I.M., P.R., E.L.M., R.G., I.T., Y.-S.Y., W.A.R., B.B., A.B., and J.T. served on the advisory board and consulted for Inivata.

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