Abstract
Detection of methylation patterns in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can offer a novel approach for cancer diagnostics given the unique signature for each tumor type. We developed a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based assay targeting 32 CpG sites to detect colorectal cancer-specific ctDNA. NGS was performed on bisulfite-converted libraries and status dichotomization was done using median methylation ratios at all targets. We included plasma samples from patients with metastatic colorectal (n = 20) and non-colorectal cancers (n = 8); and healthy volunteers (n = 4). Median methylation ratio was higher in colorectal cancer compared with non-colorectal cancers (P = .001) and normal donors (P = .005). The assay detected ctDNA in 85% of patients with colorectal cancer at a specificity of 92%. Notably, we were able to detect methylated ctDNA in 75% of patients in whom ctDNA was not detected by other methods. Detection of methylated ctDNA was associated with shorter median progression-free survival compared to non-detection (8 weeks versus 54 weeks; P = .027).
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 368-372 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | The oncologist |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 6 2023 |
Keywords
- circulating tumor DNA
- colorectal cancer
- liquid biopsy
- methylation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research
MD Anderson CCSG core facilities
- Bioinformatics Shared Resource