ArticleBritish journal of cancer2024
Circulating tumour DNA and risk of recurrence in patients with asymptomatic versus symptomatic colorectal cancer.
Article in British journal of cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Blood-Based Circulating Tumor DNA for Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Digestive diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Colorectal Cancer: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Signaling Pathways, Clinical Features, Screening, Diagnosis, and Management.MedComm · 2026Review
- Potential of Circulating Tumor DNA in Stratifying Patients with Localized pMMR Colon Cancer to Neoadjuvant Therapy.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Prognostic Significance of Blood-Based Multicancer Detection in Circulating Tumor DNA: Five-Year Outcomes Analysis.JCO precision oncology · 2026Observational
- Personalized ctDNA analysis for detection of residual disease and recurrence in surgically treated HNSCC patients.NPJ precision oncology · 2026Article
- Preoperative positive ctDNA analysis is associated with the tumor microenvironment, and the risk of recurrence in non-metastatic colorectal cancer.NPJ precision oncology · 2026Article
- A new paradigm in postoperative colorectal cancer surveillance: integrating advanced imaging and multi-omics.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Review
- Improvement of the sensitivity of circulating tumor DNA-based liquid biopsy: current approaches and future perspectives.Exploration of targeted anti-tumor therapy · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
32 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMultiple initiatives aim to develop circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) tests for early cancer detection in asymptomatic individuals. The few studies describing ctDNA-testing in both asymptomatic and symptomatic patients report lower ctDNA detection in the asymptomatic patients. Here, we explore if asymptomatic patients differ from symptomatic patients e.g. by including a 'low-ctDNA-shedding' and 'less-aggressive' subgroup.
methodsctDNA assessment was performed in two independent cohorts of consecutively recruited patients with asymptomatic colorectal cancer (CRC) (Cohort#1: n = 215, Cohort#2: n = 368) and symptomatic CRC (Cohort#1: n = 117, Cohort#2: n = 722).
resultsAfter adjusting for tumour stage and size, the odds of ctDNA detection was significantly lower in asymptomatic patients compared to symptomatic patients (Cohort#1: OR: 0.4, 95%CI: 0.2-0.8, Cohort#2: OR: 0.7, 95%CI: 0.5-0.9). Further, the recurrence risk was lower in asymptomatic patients (Cohort#1: sHR: 0.6, 95%CI: 0.3-1.2, Cohort#2: sHR: 0.6, 95%CI: 0.4-1.0). Notably, ctDNA-negative asymptomatic patients had the lowest recurrence risk compared to the symptomatic patients (Cohort#1: sHR: 0.2, 95%CI: 0.1-0.6, Cohort#2: sHR: 0.3, 95%CI: 0.2-0.6).
conclusionsOur study suggests that asymptomatic patients are enriched for a 'low-ctDNA-shedding-low-recurrence-risk' subgroup. Such insights are needed to guide ctDNA-based early-detection initiatives and should prompt discussions about de-escalation of therapy and follow-up for ctDNA-negative asymptomatic CRC patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.