'Hidden DNA' That Could Benefit Cancer Patients Revealed; Is This the End of Chemotherapy?

A new study has provided clinicians with an approach that has already helped some stage II colon cancer patients avoid chemotherapy without changing their clinical outcomes.

The said approach employed in new research, a ScienceAlert report said, employs a DNA type called "circulating tumor DNA or ctDNA.

This is quite self-explanatory. This comprises small sections of fragmented DNA from tumors circulating in the bloodstream. Essentially, they are not part of a tumor cell; nonetheless, they are just the DNA from the tumor by itself.

Essentially, chemotherapy is an incredible tool for annihilating cancer cells, although the regular cells end up in the crossfire, which can lead to life-changing side effects.

ctDNA in the Bloodstream

Chemotherapy, also called chemo, which was described in a related Nation World News Report, is not always a requirement for successful treatment, although how to tell if an individual needs it can be both a science and art.

This work is not a pioneer in investigating ctDNA, and researchers know that the presence of ctDNA, which is described in a report from the Pharmacy Times, in the bloodstream post-surgery forecasts the risk of cancer recurrence.

This new research has taken such knowledge one step ahead, though. It is the first clinical study on stage II colon cancer, exhibiting that a ctDNA "guided approach" after surgery can substantially benefit the patients.

Anne Marie Lennon, a Johns Hopkins gastroenterologist, said Stage II colon cancer presents an unusual challenge.

At present, there is a number of features a tumor might have that could prompt the doctor to schedule chemotherapy, for instance, if the tumor appears abnormal under the microscope or if cancer has broken through other tissue.

Study Findings

However, this new research has found that this approach is not foolproof, and many cancer patients might be undergoing chemotherapy when they do not need it.

From 2015 to 2019, more than 450 patients with type II colon cancer were signed up for the study. Out of this number, 302 were assigned to the ctDNA guided method, while the rest were given standard care.

The patients were followed up after 37 months, meaning the study had data on the patients for more than three years.

As a result, standard management and guided therapy had similar survival rates and no cancer recurrence within the study period.

Nevertheless, the big difference was the amount of chemotherapy that was administered. Meanwhile, in the standard treatment group, 27.9 percent of participants went through chemo, while in the ctDNA-guided treatment group, only 15.3 percent needed to.

The study has been presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Related information about a test that could help avoid chemotherapy in cancer patients is shown on Rochester Regional Health's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Cancer in Science Times.