Table 4.
Clinical relevance of ctDNA as a prognostic marker for the detection of minimal residual disease and recurrence after surgery.
| Study Design | Sample Size | Study Population | ctDNA Detection Method | Timepoint of ctDNA Sampling | Post-Operative ctDNA Detection Rate | Post-Operative Recurrence for ctDNA+ Patients after Surgery | Post-Operative Recurrence for ctDNA− Patients after Surgery | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detection of MRD/recurrence after surgery | Prospective cohort study [64] |
230 | Stage II CC | Safe-SeqS | 4–10 weeks after surgery | 8.7% | 79% | 9.8% |
| Prospective cohort study [50] |
96 | Stage II-III CC | Safe-SeqS | 4–10 weeks after surgery | 21% | 42% | NM | |
| Prospective cohort study [32] | 21 | Stage I-III CRC | ddPCR | 1–4 weeks after surgery | 28.5% | 100% | 27% | |
| Cohort study [65] |
63 | Stage II-III CRC | NGS | Within 1 week after surgery | 28.6% | 27.8% | 4.4% | |
| Prospective, multi-center cohort study [8] |
94 | Stage I-III CRC | Multiplex PCR-based NGS (Signatera™) | 4 weeks after surgery | 10.6% | 70% | 11.9% | |
| Prospective study [66] |
1017 | Stage III CC | ddPCR | 35–50 days after surgery | 13.8% | After 2 years: 31.4% | After 2 years: 17.2% | |
| Prospective, multi-center cohort study [51] |
184 | Stage II-III CRC | ddPCR | 1–6 months after surgery | 10.5% | 44.4% | 10.4% | |
| Prospective, cohort study [56] |
240 | Stage II-III CRC | 425-gene NGS panel-based | 3–7 days after surgery | 8.3% | 60% | NM |
CC: colon cancer, Safe-SeqS: Safe-Sequencing System, NM: not mentioned, and NGS: Next-Generation Sequencing.