Circulating tumor DNA as a predictive biomarker for treatment response and survival in metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE

To explore the potential of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a prognostic biomarker to predict treatment response and survival outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 134 patients with mCRC who were treated between January 2020 and December 2021. The patients were classified into ctDNA-negative and ctDNA-positive groups based on plasma ctDNA detection. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters, treatment response, survival outcomes, and adverse events were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS

No significant differences were observed in baseline characteristics between the two groups. Compared to the ctDNA-positive patients, ctDNA-negative patients exhibited superior outcomes, including a higher objective response rate (65.22% vs. 46.15%), disease control rate (81.16% vs. 63.08%), progression-free survival (8.24 ± 1.02 vs. 7.86 ± 0.91 months), overall survival (24.58 ± 3.58 vs. 23.27 ± 3.46 months), and 1-year survival rate (73.91% vs. 55.38%). The ctDNA-positive group had a significantly higher incidence of adverse events. Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between ctDNA status, tumor markers, treatment response, and survival outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

ctDNA is a promising noninvasive biomarker for predicting treatment response, survival, and adverse events in mCRC, potentially guiding personalized therapeutic strategies.