Clinical Report: ctDNA Tracks Relapse Risk in Breast Cancer

Overview

A prospective study found that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) monitoring before and after surgery predicts relapse and survival outcomes in early breast cancer patients. The persistence of ctDNA post-treatment was associated with recurrence and death.

Background

The ability to accurately predict relapse in early breast cancer is crucial. Traditional measures of treatment response may not adequately reflect the risk of recurrence. The study highlights the potential of ctDNA as a biomarker for monitoring disease progression.

Data Highlights

Key Findings

• Persistence of ctDNA after neoadjuvant therapy was linked to higher recurrence and mortality risk.
• Patients with cleared ctDNA during treatment had significantly better outcomes.
• ctDNA dynamics were found to be more prognostic than pathologic complete response.
• The assay identified molecular residual disease often before clinical recurrence.
• ctDNA detection preceded clinical relapse by up to four years in some cases.

Clinical Implications

The findings indicate that ctDNA monitoring could enhance risk stratification in early breast cancer management.

Conclusion

The study highlights the potential of ctDNA as a tool in breast cancer management for early detection of relapse risk.

Related Resources & Content

1. Nicholas C. Turner, JAMA Oncology, 2026 -- Circulating Tumor DNA and Relapse in Early-Stage Breast Cancer
2. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2026 -- NeoCircle: pre- and post-operative circulating tumor DNA dynamics predicts survival in neoadjuvant-treated early breast cancer
3. The ASCO Post — Circulating Tumor DNA and Relapse in Early-Stage Breast Cancer
4. the asco post — Can ctDNA Monitoring Help to Predict Melanoma Recurrence?
5. The ASCO Post — AACR 2020: ctDNA May Be a Prognostic Biomarker of Disease Recurrence in Patients With Lung Cancer
6. the asco post — Presence of ctDNA at the End of Neoadjuvant Therapy May Predict Breast Cancer Recurrence
7. Role of ctDNA surveillance is uncertain in early breast cancer
8. Circulating Tumor DNA in Early Breast Cancer: A Review | Breast Cancer | JAMA Oncology | JAMA Network
9. Results of the c-TRAK TN trial: a clinical trial utilising ctDNA mutation tracking to detect molecular residual disease and trigger intervention in patients with moderate- and high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer - ScienceDirect
10. NeoCircle: pre- and post-operative circulating tumor DNA dynamics predicts survival in neoadjuvant-treated early breast cancer | EMBO Molecular Medicine | Springer Nature Link
11. Circulating tumor DNA refines risk stratification of neoadjuvant therapy-resistant breast tumors | Nature Communications
12. Multiple time points for detecting circulating tumor DNA to monitor the response to neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer: a meta-analysis | BMC Cancer | Springer Nature Link