Significance and benefit of testing for circulating tumour DNA in diagnosing and treating non-small cell lung cancer
Abstract
The present paper deals with the current situation and possible use of testing ctDNA in the blood of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It presents an overview of the current most frequently used platforms for these tests as well as the results of some studies utilized by these tests when choosing systemic treatment and monitoring its efficacy.
These tests particularly lend themselves to be used in initial diagnosis and choosing the treatment strategy as well as in monitoring the course of cancer treatment, which allows to determine the emergence of resistant mutations and development of tumour heterogeneity. Other options include diagnosing the presence of minimal residual disease and early detection of cancer recurrence.
A further possibility might be the measurement of tumour mutational burden from ctDNA which is an established parameter of the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. In addition to the latest imaging techniques which are the mainstay of diagnosing and monitoring of the efficacy of NSCLC treatment, a novel tool for diagnosing and monitoring of the disease development has emerged which can further enhance the knowledge of the biology and dynamics of tumour disease development and is likely to contribute to a change in the paradigm of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in non-small cell lung cancer.