Monitoring response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer using circulating tumor DNA

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype with poor prognosis. We aimed to determine whether circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating tumor cell (CTC) could predict response and long-term outcomes to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Patients with TNBC were enrolled between 2017-2021 at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX). Serial plasma samples were collected at four timepoints: pre-NAC (baseline), 12-weeks after NAC (mid-NAC), after NAC/prior to surgery (post-NAC), and one-year after surgery. ctDNA was quantified using a tumor-informed ctDNA assay (Signatera^TM, Natera, Inc.) and CTC enumeration using CellSearch. Wilcoxon and Fisher's exact tests were used for comparisons between groups and Kaplan-Meier analysis used for survival outcomes.

In total, 37 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 50 and majority of patients had invasive ductal carcinoma (34, 91.9%) with clinical T2, (25, 67.6%) node-negative disease (21, 56.8%). Baseline ctDNA was detected in 90% (27/30) of patients, of whom 70.4% (19/27) achieved ctDNA clearance by mid-NAC. ctDNA clearance at mid-NAC was significantly associated with pathologic complete response (p = 0.02), whereas CTC clearance was not (p = 0.52). There were no differences in overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) with positive baseline ctDNA and CTC. However, positive ctDNA at mid-NAC was significantly associated with worse OS and RFS (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0034, respectively).

Early clearance of ctDNA served as a predictive and prognostic marker in TNBC. Personalized ctDNA monitoring during NAC may help predict response and guide treatment.