Sirpa Leppa, Professor at the University of Helsinki and Chief Physician at the Helsinki University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Centre, shared on LinkedIn:
“Happy to share our study on molecular surveillance of aggressive large B-cell lymphoma using circulating tumor DNA, now published online in Haematologica.
We followed 119 young patients with high-risk large B-cell lymphoma treated in the Nordic Lymphoma Group phase II trial, analysing 447 plasma samples with ultrasensitive duplex sequencing of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) over five years of follow-up.
What we found:
- After just two treatment cycles, two-thirds of patients had cleared their ctDNA, and they did very well: the negative predictive value for progression was 91%.
- At the end of therapy, ctDNA separated outcomes sharply. Two-year progression-free survival was 94% in MRD-negative patients and 18% in MRD-positive patients (HR 18.7), independently of PET-CT.
- During follow-up, ctDNA reappeared a median of 6 months before clinical relapse, and at least 3 months ahead in all evaluable systemic relapses.
Duplex sequencing is scalable, increasingly available, and can detect ctDNA at the parts-per-million level. The next step is prospective trials testing whether acting on ctDNA improves outcomes.
My warmest thanks to Leo Meriranta, who carried out the study, all co-authors, study sites, our funders, and the patients who participated in the study.”
Title: Molecular surveillance of aggressive large B-cell lymphoma using circulating tumor DNA duplexes
Authors: Leo Meriranta, Maare Arffman, Matias Autio, Judit Jørgensen, Marja-Liisa Karjalainen-Lindsberg, Klaus Beiske, Mette Pedersen, Kristina Drott, Øystein Fluge, Sirkku Jyrkkiö, Peter Brown, Harald Holte, Sirpa Leppä
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