Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39088983›Full record

ArticleESMO open2024

Detecting pulmonary malignancy against benign nodules using noninvasive cell-free DNA fragmentomics assay.

S Xu, J Luo, W Tang, H Bao, J Wang, S Chang, Z Zou, X Fan, Y Liu, C Jiang and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ESMO open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. A Noninvasive Circulating Tumor DNA Methylation Classifier to Identify Benign Pulmonary Nodules.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. neomerDB: a comprehensive database of neomer biomarkers in cancer.Database : the journal of biological databases and curation · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Cell-free DNA fragmentomics: a universal framework for early cancer detection and monitoring.American journal of clinical and experimental immunology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

S XuThe Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Electronic address: xushun610539@sina.com.
J LuoThe Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
W TangNanjing Geneseeq Technology Inc., Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
H BaoNanjing Geneseeq Technology Inc., Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
J WangThe Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
S ChangNanjing Geneseeq Technology Inc., Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Z ZouThe Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
X FanThe Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Y LiuThe Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
C JiangThe Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
X WuNanjing Geneseeq Technology Inc., Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEarly screening using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can reduce mortality caused by non-small-cell lung cancer. However, ∼25% of the 'suspicious' pulmonary nodules identified by LDCT are later confirmed benign through resection surgery, adding to patients' discomfort and the burden on the healthcare system. In this study, we aim to develop a noninvasive liquid biopsy assay for distinguishing pulmonary malignancy from benign yet 'suspicious' lung nodules using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentomics profiling.

methodsAn independent training cohort consisting of 193 patients with malignant nodules and 44 patients with benign nodules was used to construct a machine learning model. Base models using four different fragmentomics profiles were optimized using an automated machine learning approach before being stacked into the final predictive model. An independent validation cohort, including 96 malignant nodules and 22 benign nodules, and an external test cohort, including 58 malignant nodules and 41 benign nodules, were used to assess the performance of the stacked ensemble model.

resultsOur machine learning models demonstrated excellent performance in detecting patients with malignant nodules. The area under the curves reached 0.857 and 0.860 in the independent validation cohort and the external test cohort, respectively. The validation cohort achieved an excellent specificity (68.2%) at the targeted 90% sensitivity (89.6%). An equivalently good performance was observed while applying the cut-off to the external cohort, which reached a specificity of 63.4% at 89.7% sensitivity. A subgroup analysis for the independent validation cohort showed that the sensitivities for detecting various subgroups of nodule size (<1 cm: 91.7%; 1-3 cm: 88.1%; >3 cm: 100%; unknown: 100%) and smoking history (yes: 88.2%; no: 89.9%) all remained high among the lung cancer group.

conclusionsOur cfDNA fragmentomics assay can provide a noninvasive approach to distinguishing malignant nodules from radiographically suspicious but pathologically benign ones, amending LDCT false positives.

Indexed as

Cell-Free Nucleic AcidsLung NeoplasmsMachine LearningAgedCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungEarly Detection of CancerFemaleHumansLiquid BiopsyMaleMiddle AgedMultiple Pulmonary NodulesTomography, X-Ray ComputedCell-Free Nucleic Acidsautomated machine learningcancer detectionlow-pass WGSnoninvasiveNSCLC

Identifiers

PMID39088983
PMCPMC11345357

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.