ArticleJournal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR2024
Circulating tumour DNA dynamics predict recurrence in stage III melanoma patients receiving neoadjuvant immunotherapy.
Article in Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Clinical Utility of Circulating Tumour DNA (ctDNA) Analysis for Assessing Completeness of Primary Lesion Resection and Disease Stage in Patients with Melanoma: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Pooled it
- Neoadjuvant PD-1 and LAG-3-targeting bispecific antibody and other immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations in resectable melanoma: the randomized phase 1b/2 Morpheus-Melanoma trial.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- Pretreatment and on-treatment ctDNA and tissue biomarkers predict recurrence in patients with stage IIIB-D/IV melanoma treated with adjuvant immunotherapy: CheckMate 915.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2025Trial
- Five-year survival with neoadjuvant therapy in melanoma: updated pooled analysis from the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium (INMC).Nature medicine · 2026Article
- Pre-operative circulating tumour DNA in high-risk primary cutaneous melanoma: prospective feasibility in molecular pathology.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2026Article
- Article
- Circulating Tumor DNA as a Biomarker for Melanoma Prognosis and Therapy.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2026Review
- Review
- Personalization of Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in High-Risk Resectable Melanoma and Utility of ctDNA as a Biomarker of Immunotherapy Response.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Article
- Review
- Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models for Cancer Immunotherapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Sensitivity and prognostic significance of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in stage I to III malignant melanoma.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2026Article
- Reconsidering adjuvant and perioperative immune-checkpoint inhibition: de-escalation, expansion and personalization.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Biomarker analysis of circulating tumor DNA in clinical stage III melanoma patients treated with neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with targeted therapy.Therapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2026Article
- Circulating tumor DNA in neoadjuvant therapy for solid tumors.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Personalized Circulating Tumor DNA Assay to Assess Long-Term Clinical Benefit in Patients with Advanced Melanoma.Cancers · 2025Article
- Accuracy of PET-CT to Assess the Extent of Nodal Disease in Patients with Clinical Stage III Melanoma Following Neoadjuvant Treatment.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Article
- Role of Circulating Tumor DNA in Adapting Immunotherapy Approaches in Breast Cancer.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Review
- Pre-Amplification of Cell-Free DNA: Balancing Amplification Errors with Enhanced Sensitivity.Biomolecules · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNeoadjuvant therapy improves recurrence-free survival (RFS) in resectable stage III cutaneous melanoma. However, accurately predicting individual recurrence risk remains a significant challenge. We investigated circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) as a biomarker for recurrence in measurable stage IIIB/C melanoma patients undergoing neoadjuvant immunotherapy.
methodsPlasma samples were collected pre-neoadjuvant treatment, pre-surgery and/or six weeks post-surgery from 40 patients enrolled in the OpACIN-neo and PRADO clinical trials. Patients received two cycles of ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) and nivolumab (anti-PD-1) before surgery. Cell free DNA (cfDNA) underwent unbiased pre-amplification followed by tumour-informed mutation detection using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) with the Bio-Rad QX600 PCR system.
resultsPre-treatment ctDNA was detectable in 19/40 (48%) patients. Among these, 17/19 (89%) zero-converted within six weeks of surgery and none recurred. Positive ctDNA post-surgery (N = 4), irrespective of pre-treatment ctDNA status, was 100% predictive of recurrence (sensitivity 44%, specificity 100%). Furthermore, ctDNA cleared prior to surgery in 7/9 (78%) patients who did not recur, warranting further investigation into ctDNA-guided surgical management.
conclusionPost-surgery ctDNA positivity and zero-conversion are highly predictive of recurrence, offering a window for personalised modification of adjuvant therapy.
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