STAT+: Blood tests for circulating tumor DNA are more popular than ever, even as experts still aren’t sure how best to use them
Liquid biopsy tests are growing in use and showing promise in cancer detection, but experts say more trials are needed on the clinical benefit of ctDNA testing.
CHICAGO — Tests searching for tumor DNA that’s circulating in the blood are surging in popularity, because they can clue clinicians into what’s happening with a patient’s cancer long before any changes appear on more traditional tools like MRI or CT scans. Some of these ctDNA tests can show if cancer will recur months before any lesions are visible, and others can give information about how a cancer will or is responding to a certain therapy.
Sales of the tests have soared, and here at the American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting this week, there were dozens of abstracts looking at ctDNA and its use in clinical decision-making.
Yet for all their enthusiasm about the tests’ potential, cancer researchers STAT interviewed weren’t ready to say these tests are useful in guiding better clinical decisions. That’s because trials are coming out with data on ctDNA, but they still don’t provide clear answers on whether the tests broadly make a difference in patient outcomes, experts said.
