Liquid Biopsies

Target capture next-generation sequencing, MassARRAY, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction all effectively detected low frequency somatic epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in cell-free circulating tumor DNA from individuals with non–small cell lung cancer , according to a presentation at the AMP 2020 Annual Meeting and Expo.

The FDA has granted approval to the FoundationOne Liquid CDx as a companion diagnostic indicated for the to identify patients who may derive benefit from treatment with 3 FDA-approved targeted therapies, including alpelisib, rucaparib, and alectinib.

The FDA has granted approval to FoundationOne Liquid CDx, a comprehensive liquid biopsy assay for all solid tumors with multiple companion diagnostic indications.

The application of liquid biopsies is becoming more common in the field of non–small cell lung cancer as the utility of liquid biopsies in the detection of key biomarkers continues to be confirmed through clinical trials.

“Accurately identifying patients with high-grade UTUC is critical, as the disease progression can be deadly and the standard treatment – removal of ureter and kidney – leads to major morbidity."

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Xiuning Le, MD, PhD, discussed the results of the phase II VISION study, which evaluated tepotinib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and harbor the MET exon 14 skipping mutation. She also highlighted the role of liquid biopsy in this space.

"The launch of these 3 liquid biopsy assays exemplifies our commitment to providing the most comprehensive oncology menu for our clients as a one-stop-shop for their testing needs."

"Liquid biopsy is useful at any time when a physician needs genomic information about their patient’s cancer in order to make a treatment decision."

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Steve A. Soper, PhD, discussed microfluidic platforms for use in isolating circulating leukemia cells and plasma cells in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia.

The first liquid biopsy assay, a blood test, to detect over 50 types of cancer has been developed and is able to identify in which part of the body that the cancer originated in, based on findings from a prospective multicenter case-control observational trial, the CCGA study published in Annals of Oncology. The test also identified cancer prior to symptoms in most patients, according to a press release.

Use of the liquid biopsy assay MSK-ACCESS has led to detection of actionable genetic variants in 40% of tumor samples, offering an attrac­tive alternative to invasive tumor biopsies in patients with no available tissue for testing. 

Liquid biopsy results that identify DNA damage repair genes in prostate cancer may be a useful tool in clinical-deci­sion making, espe­cially because these genes can elucidate therapeutic vulnera­bilities that could be exploited by current treatments.

Circulating free DNA in the blood may be a more effective way to measure disease in patients with breast cancer and track the progression of the disease, according to a study from researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center.

High volumes of mutations observed through liquid biopsies may be associated with an improvement in progression-free survival  and clinical benefit after first-line standard-of-care pembrolizumab-based therapy in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, according to findings from a prospective biomarker trial conducted by investigators at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center, which were published in Clinical Cancer Research.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, John Simmons, PhD, discussed the potential role of liquid biopsy assays in predicting response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for patients with cancer. He also highlighted other liquid biopsy assays that are in development for detecting MSI.

In a presentation describing the utility of circulating tumor DNA liquid biopsy assays at the 14th Annual New York Lung Cancers Symposium, Bob T. Li, MD, MPH, said that plasma genotyping demsonstrates practice-changing potential in non–small cell lung cancer.

Among patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome who completed myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the predictive utility of testing circulating tumor DNA was comparable with that of mutation persistence evaluation in matched bone marrow samples, according to a study published recently in Blood.

Multiple presentations at the 2019 ESMO Congress add to the evidence that blood-based biomarkers have predictive utility in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Blood-based next-generation sequencing has also shown clinical utility in aiding treatment decisions for physicians treating this disease.

A matched retrospective comparison showed that progression-free survival  in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and actionable mutations was similar whether treatment went was guided with the use of tissue or circulating tumor DNA analysis with the Guardant360 assay.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Muhammed Murtaza, MBBS, PhD, discussed the role for TARDIS in the treatment landscape of early-stage breast cancer, as well as the data supporting its use. He also highlighted next steps necessary for validating these results and the potential clinical value of liquid biopsies in the breast cancer space.

During the <em>20th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress, <em>Targeted Oncology</em> spoke with another Lung-MAP investigator, Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, about the status and importance of the trial and new recommendations for molecular testing and liquid biopsies working their way into practice in the lung cancer field.

During an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Charu Agarwal, MD, reviewed the findings of a prospective study of pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Tissue-based microsatellite instability testing showed high concordance for detection of cell-free DNA, according to the results of a <em>Clinical Cancer Research</em> analysis.

Mark J. Ratain, MD&nbsp;provided guidance on the current landscape for research biopsies in clinical trials and talked through the recommendations and how the new ethical framework can improve clinical trials during an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>. He also explained the potential role for liquid biopsies and blood-based biomarker testing within clinical research.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Kieron Dunleavy, MD, examined the role of liquid biopsy throughout the course of disease for all lymphomas, and specifically for patients with mantle cell lymphoma, and how its role may change in the future.

During an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, discussed the current role of both liquid biopsy and NGS in breast cancer management, improvements that are needed, and research that shows a promising future.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, David Polsky, MD, PhD, discussed the findings from this analysis in patients with&nbsp;<em>BRAF</em>-mutant, unresectable, metastatic melanoma. He highlighted the next steps necessary for validating these findings and potentially using ctDNA to help inform treatment decisions for patients with metastatic melanoma.

To move the treatment of colon cancer forward, investigators are identifying better biomarkers for response to adjuvant chemotherapy and as early indicators of chemotherapy success, said Jeanne Tie, MD, MBChB, to an audience at the ASCO: Medical Crossfire&reg;: How to Use Liquid Biopsies in Oncology Care hosted by Physicians&rsquo; Education Resource&reg;, LLC.

A new study shows comparability between liquid biopsy and tissue biopsy in both diagnostics and monitoring of non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, based on the results, liquid biopsies may be preferable to help oncologists make swifter decisions that help manage the disease.<br /> &nbsp;

During an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, lead study author Dhruvajyoti Roy, PhD, the director of technology at Laboratory for Advanced Medicine, Inc., shared information about the study, commented on other liquid biopsy research presented by peers at ASCO and provided insight as to what these data mean for the future of cell-free DNA methylation.