ctDNA after surgery for MMRd tumors can prevent cancer recurrence – Yelena Janjigian at AACR25
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center shared a post on LinkedIn:
“In a plenary session at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research’s Annual Meeting, MSK gastrointestinal medical oncologist Dr. Yelena Janjigian shared new results from a clinical trial which found that a simple blood test can help doctors identify which patients are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy after cancer surgery to remove tumors – potentially preventing the disease from coming back.
The phase 1 trial focused on patients whose tumors had a specific genetic feature called mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd). This abnormality makes it harder for cells to fix mistakes in their DNA. It also makes the tumors more likely to respond to immunotherapy.
In this trial, patients had their MMRd tumors surgically removed and then underwent a blood test known as a liquid biopsy. This test looks for tiny fragments of tumor DNA – known as circulating tumor DNA or ctDNA – that may still be present in the bloodstream after surgery.
‘This is the first time we’ve shown that finding ctDNA after surgery – and acting on it quickly – can actually prevent cancer from coming back. The results exceeded our expectations and highlight how ctDNA can guide smarter, more personalized cancer care.’ said Dr. Janjigian.
Learn more about this research.”
At AACR 2025, Dr. Yelena Janjigian presented clinical trial results demonstrating that detecting ctDNA after surgery in patients with mismatch repair-deficient tumors can help guide timely immunotherapy and reduce cancer recurrence. The study emphasizes the growing role of liquid biopsy in personalizing cancer care.
More posts featuring Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
-
Challenging the Status Quo in Colorectal Cancer 2024
December 6-8, 2024
-
ESMO 2024 Congress
September 13-17, 2024
-
ASCO Annual Meeting
May 30 - June 4, 2024
-
Yvonne Award 2024
May 31, 2024
-
OncoThon 2024, Online
Feb. 15, 2024
-
Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
Dec. 14-16, 2023