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Liquid Biopsy in Biliary Tract Cancer: When Tissue is Not Enough
1Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Melbourne Australia.
Summary
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing identifies more genetic mutations in advanced biliary tract cancer than tissue biopsies. This liquid biopsy approach is faster and more accurate, supporting future clinical trials.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genomics
- Molecular Diagnostics
Background:
- Advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC) presents diagnostic challenges.
- Genomic profiling is crucial for targeted therapy selection in BTC.
- Traditional tissue biopsies have limitations in speed and detection rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profiling versus tissue biopsy for detecting actionable genomic alterations in advanced BTC.
- To establish the clinical validity of ctDNA profiling in this patient population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of advanced BTC patients.
- Comparison of ctDNA profiling results with tissue biopsy results.
- Assessment of turnaround time and detection rate for both methods.
Main Results:
- ctDNA profiling detected actionable genomic alterations in 90% of patients compared to 50% with tissue biopsy.
- The turnaround time for ctDNA profiling was significantly faster (8 days) than for tissue biopsy (27 days).
- High concordance was observed between ctDNA and tissue biopsy results when alterations were detected by both methods.
Conclusions:
- ctDNA profiling is a superior method for detecting actionable genomic alterations in advanced BTC.
- The speed and sensitivity of ctDNA profiling support its use in clinical decision-making.
- This study provides a strong rationale for prospective ctDNA-directed clinical trials in advanced BTC.
