The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust shared on LinkedIn:
“A blood test could help identify men with advanced prostate cancer who are more likely to experience longer disease control, following targeted radiotherapy, according to research led by The Royal Marsden, The Institute of Cancer Research and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
New analysis from the TRAP trial found that measuring ctDNA in the blood before treatment could provide additional information about how a patient’s cancer may respond to radiotherapy.
CtDNA consists of small fragments of genetic material released by cancer cells into the bloodstream. Analysing these fragments can help researchers detect signs of cancer activity that are not apparent on scans.
Professor Alison Tree, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden and Chief Investigator of the TRAP trial, said:
‘These findings suggest that a simple blood test could give us valuable additional information about how advanced prostate cancer is behaving, beyond what we can see on scans’.
We found that men with no detectable ctDNA before radiotherapy tended to have longer periods without their cancer progressing than those with detectable levels.
‘Although more research is needed before this test can be used to guide treatment decisions, our findings are an important step towards understanding which patients may benefit most from targeted radiotherapy and how we could better personalise treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer.’ “
You can also read:
- Arun Azad: New TALAPRO-2 Data Highlight the Prognostic Value of ctDNA and CTCs in Prostate Cancer
- Phase 3 PROpel Trial: Tissue and ctDNA Testing for HRR Mutations in Prostate Cancer
