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Updated: Sep 3, 2026
Serum and Plasma Copy Number Detection Using Real-time PCR
Published on: December 15, 2017
Prognostic value of circulating tumor DNA and copy-number alterations in patients receiving tandem
Mariam Amghar1, Thomas Hielscher2, Tobias Rausch3
1Research Group Translational Radiotheranostics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Background:
Prostate-specific membrane antigen-targeted radioligand therapy (PSMA-RLT) demonstrates clinical efficacy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), yet robust biomarkers for dynamic treatment monitoring and resistance remain lacking. We investigated circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-derived tumor fraction (TFx) and genome-wide copy-number alterations (CNAs) as non-invasive biomarkers of treatment response and resistance biology.
Methods:
Seventy-eight patients with advanced mCRPC receiving tandem [225Ac]Ac-/[177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 were prospectively enrolled. Plasma samples collected longitudinally (n = 172) underwent ultra-low-pass whole-genome sequencing. TFx was estimated using ichorCNA, and recurrent CNAs were identified using GISTIC2.0. Associations with progression and overall survival (OS) were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models, including time-dependent analyses.
Results:
Baseline TFx differed across metastatic disease stages (p = 0.027) and dynamic TFx changes paralleled PSA kinetics during early treatment. Modelled as a time-dependent variable, TFx was associated with a significantly increased risk of progression (HR 4.9, 95% CI 1.2-20.1, p = 0.026). Unsupervised clustering identified distinct high- and low-CNA burden groups strongly correlated with TFx (p = 8.09 × 10⁻8). High CNA burden was associated with shorter median OS (8.3 vs 13.8 months). Multivariable analysis identified baseline logPSA and logALP as independent predictors of OS. Recurrent CNAs affected key tumor suppressors (PTEN, RB1, BRCA2, ATM) and were enriched in pathways related to TP53 signalling, homologous recombination repair, and oncogenic signaling. Longitudinal analyses demonstrated persistence and expansion of specific amplifications at progression.
Conclusions:
ctDNA-derived TFx represents a dynamic biomarker of treatment response and progression risk, while CNA profiling provides insight into resistance mechanisms in mCRPC treated with PSMA-RLT. These findings support the integration of ctDNA-based biomarkers into clinical stratification and real-time monitoring strategies.
