NeoCircle: pre- and post-operative circulating tumor DNA dynamics predicts survival in neoadjuvant-treated early breast cancer
Blood tests detecting lingering cancer cells after breast cancer treatment can predict recurrence over a year earlier than standard imaging or clinical signs.
A prospective cohort of 136 early breast cancer patients demonstrated that structural variant-based personalized ctDNA monitoring using ultrasensitive digital PCR outperforms pathologic complete response as a predictor of recurrence after neoadjuvant therapy. Post-operative ctDNA positivity identified molecular residual disease with a 13.8-month lead time before clinical relapse, validating this scalable approach for integration into early breast cancer management.
What the study was
- Study design
- Prospective cohort
- Population
- Early breast cancer patients eligible for neoadjuvant therapy (SCAN-B substudy, enrolled 2014-2019)
- Sample size
- 136
- Category
- Early Detection
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- EMBO Molecular Medicine
Why it surfaced
Prospective validation of SV-based ctDNA monitoring in early breast cancer; end-NAT ctDNA + post-op ctDNA with 13.8-month MRD lead time outperforms pCR — directly actionable for trial design and clinical ctDNA adoption; EMBO Mol Med open access
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