Objective: This study aims to assess the application and effectiveness of tumor-informed Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) detection using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for predicting disease recurrence and survival outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.
Methods: Between 2020 and 2022, 31 newly diagnosed stage II-IV ovarian cancer patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. All patients completed standard treatment, including cytoreductive surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy, achieving a complete remission (CR) without receiving first-line PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy. Archived tumor tissue, as well as plasma samples collected pre- and post-treatment, were tested using Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) to identify personalized somatic variants for MRD detection.
Results: All pre-treatment (baseline) blood samples showed a 100 % MRD positive rate, demonstrating the high sensitivity of ctDNA-based MRD detection. This rate decreased to 25.8 % in post-treatment (landmark) samples, indicating a significant reduction of ctDNA levels following effective treatment. The median follow-up time until Sep 2023 was 21.4 months, during which 15 patients experienced recurrence. Landmark MRD-positive patients exhibited a markedly shorter median progression-free survival (PFS) compared to MRD-negative patients (5.8 months vs 24.7 months, HR = 6.678, p = 0.01). Furthermore, a strong correlation was observed between post-treatment MRD status and recurrence, with a higher relapse rate in the MRD-positive group.
Conclusion: The study establishes MRD detection via ctDNA analysis as a valuable tool for early and accurate prediction of ovarian cancer recurrence, potentially leading to improved clinical outcomes. As a result, integrating MRD detection into routine clinical practice is advocated to enable more effective and personalized treatment strategies for ovarian cancer patients.
Keywords: Minimal residual disease; Ovarian cancer; Prognosis; ctDNA.
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