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Hallermayr A, Wohlfrom T, Steinke-Lange V, Benet-Pagès A, Scharf F, Heitzer E, Mansmann U, Haberl C, de Wit M, Vogelsang H, Rentsch M, Holinski-Feder E, Pickl JMA. Somatic copy number alteration and fragmentation analysis in circulating tumor DNA for cancer screening and treatment monitoring in colorectal cancer patients. J Hematol Oncol 2022; 15:125. [PMID: 36056434 PMCID: PMC9438339 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-022-01342-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Analysis of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) is a promising tool for personalized management of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Untargeted cfDNA analysis using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) does not need a priori knowledge of the patient´s mutation profile. Methods Here we established LIquid biopsy Fragmentation, Epigenetic signature and Copy Number Alteration analysis (LIFE-CNA) using WGS with ~ 6× coverage for detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in CRC patients as a marker for CRC detection and monitoring.
Results We describe the analytical validity and a clinical proof-of-concept of LIFE-CNA using a total of 259 plasma samples collected from 50 patients with stage I-IV CRC and 61 healthy controls. To reliably distinguish CRC patients from healthy controls, we determined cutoffs for the detection of ctDNA based on global and regional cfDNA fragmentation patterns, transcriptionally active chromatin sites, and somatic copy number alterations. We further combined global and regional fragmentation pattern into a machine learning (ML) classifier to accurately predict ctDNA for cancer detection. By following individual patients throughout their course of disease, we show that LIFE-CNA enables the reliable prediction of response or resistance to treatment up to 3.5 months before commonly used CEA. Conclusion In summary, we developed and validated a sensitive and cost-effective method for untargeted ctDNA detection at diagnosis as well as for treatment monitoring of all CRC patients based on genetic as well as non-genetic tumor-specific cfDNA features. Thus, once sensitivity and specificity have been externally validated, LIFE-CNA has the potential to be implemented into clinical practice. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to consider multiple genetic and non-genetic cfDNA features in combination with ML classifiers and to evaluate their potential in both cancer detection and treatment monitoring. Trial registration DRKS00012890. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13045-022-01342-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Hallermayr
- MGZ - Medizinisch Genetisches Zentrum, Munich, Germany.,Pettenkofer School of Public Health, Munich, Germany.,Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, and Epidemiology -IBE, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Verena Steinke-Lange
- MGZ - Medizinisch Genetisches Zentrum, Munich, Germany.,Medizinische Klinik Und Poliklinik IV, Campus Innenstadt, Klinikum Der Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Benet-Pagès
- MGZ - Medizinisch Genetisches Zentrum, Munich, Germany.,Institute of Neurogenomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | | | - Ellen Heitzer
- Institute of Human Genetics, Diagnostic and Research Center for Molecular Biomedicine (Austria), Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.,BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria.,Christian Doppler Laboratory for Liquid Biopsies for Early Detection of Cancer, Graz, Austria
| | - Ulrich Mansmann
- Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, and Epidemiology -IBE, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Christopher Haberl
- Department of Oncology and Hematology, Barmherzige Brüder, Klinikum St. Elisabeth, Straubing, Germany
| | - Maike de Wit
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Vivantes Klinikum Neukoelln, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Oncology, Vivantes Auguste-Viktoria-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany
| | - Holger Vogelsang
- Department of General, Visceral, Thoracic and Endocrine Surgery, Klinikum Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Teaching Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
| | - Markus Rentsch
- Department of General, Visceral and Thorax Surgery, Klinikum Ingolstadt, Ingolstadt, Germany.,Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Campus Großhadern, Munich, Germany
| | - Elke Holinski-Feder
- MGZ - Medizinisch Genetisches Zentrum, Munich, Germany.,Medizinische Klinik Und Poliklinik IV, Campus Innenstadt, Klinikum Der Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Julia M A Pickl
- MGZ - Medizinisch Genetisches Zentrum, Munich, Germany. .,Medizinische Klinik Und Poliklinik IV, Campus Innenstadt, Klinikum Der Universität München, Munich, Germany.
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