Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39630848›Full record

Trial reportMolecular oncology2025

Evaluation of circulating tumor DNA as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in BRAF V600E mutated colorectal cancer-results from the FIRE-4.5 study.

Susanne Klein-Scory, Alexander Baraniskin, Wolff Schmiegel, Thomas Mika, Roland Schroers, Swantje Held, Kathrin Heinrich, David Tougeron, Dominik P Modest, Ingo Schwaner and 10 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Molecular oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing 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

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. TargetingBiotechnologia · 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

20 authors.

Susanne Klein-ScoryDepartment of Internal Medicine, Universitaetsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum GmbH, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1930-3354
Alexander BaraniskinDepartment of Internal Medicine, Universitaetsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum GmbH, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
Wolff SchmiegelDepartment of Internal Medicine, Universitaetsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum GmbH, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
Thomas MikaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Universitaetsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum GmbH, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
Roland SchroersDepartment of Internal Medicine, Universitaetsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum GmbH, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
Swantje HeldClinAssess GmbH, Leverkusen, Germany.
Kathrin HeinrichDepartment of Oncology, LMU University Hospital, Munich, Germany.
David TougeronDepartment of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Poitiers University Hospital and University of Poitiers, France.
Dominik P ModestDepartment of Hematology, Oncology, and Cancer Immunology (CCM), Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
Ingo SchwanerOnkologische Schwerpunktpraxis Kurfürstendamm, Berlin, Germany.
Jan EuckerDepartment of Hematology, Oncology, and Cancer Immunology (CBF), Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
Rudolf PihuschMVZ Praxis Pihusch, Rosenheim, Germany.
Martina StauchHematology, Oncology/Hemostaseology Kronach, Germany.
Florian KaiserVK&K Studien GmbH, Landshut, Germany.
Christoph KahlKlinikum Magdeburg gGmbH, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care Magdeburg, Germany.
Meinolf KarthausDepartment of Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Care, München Klinik Harlaching and Neuperlach, Germany.
Christian MüllerEvang. Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Germany.
Christof BurkartSchwarzwald-Baar Klinikum Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany.
Sebastian StintzingDepartment of Hematology, Oncology, and Cancer Immunology (CCM), Charité-Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
Volker HeinemannDepartment of Medicine III, LMU Klinikum, Comprehensive Cancer Center Munich, Germany.

Funding

Medizinische Fakultät, Ruhr-Universität Bochum FoRUM 19-6805Merck ID 10.13039/100009945
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The randomized FIRE-4.5 (AIO KRK0116) trial compared first-line therapy with FOLFOXIRI (folinic acid, fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan) plus either cetuximab or bevacizumab in B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF) V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. This study was accompanied by a prospective translational project analyzing cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in plasma to test whether ctDNA analysis may help to guide clinical treatment decision making. FIRE-4.5 included mCRC patients with BRAF V600E mutation detected by tissue-based analyses. Liquid biopsies (LBs) were collected at baseline (pre-treatment) and during therapy. Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) technology was applied for determination of BRAF mutations and the in vitro diagnostics (IVD)-certified ONCOBEAM RAS procedure for analysis of RAS mutations. The BRAF V600E variants in ctDNA were analyzable in 66 patients at start of the therapy, at baseline. No BRAF V600E mutations were detected in 26% (17/66) of patients and was associated with a significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS: 13.2 vs 6.5 months; HR 0.47; P = 0.014) and overall survival (OS: 36.8 vs 13.2 months; HR 0.35; P = 0.02) as compared to ctDNA mutant patients. Patients with detectable BRAF mutations showed a clear superiority of FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab with regard to PFS (10.4 vs 5.7 months; HR 0.4; P = 0.009) and OS (16.6 vs 11.6 months; HR 0.5; P = 0.15), while this was not the case for BRAF wild-type patients. Follow-up LBs were obtained from 51 patients. Patients converting from BRAF V600E mutant to a BRAF V600 wild-type status (36%, N = 18) had a superior PFS (8.6 vs 2.3 months; P = 0.0002) and OS (17.4 vs 5.1 months; P < 0.0001) compared to patients with stable or increased mutational allele frequency (12%, N = 6). Those patients also achieved a significantly greater disease control rate (89% vs 20%; P = 0.008). In conclusion, LB evaluating ctDNA is informative and may help to guide treatment in patients with BRAF V600E-mutated mCRC.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorCirculating Tumor DNAColorectal NeoplasmsMutationProto-Oncogene Proteins B-rafAdultAgedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsBevacizumabFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrognosisProto-Oncogene MasBevacizumabBiomarkers, TumorBRAF protein, humanCirculating Tumor DNAMAS1 protein, humanProto-Oncogene MasProto-Oncogene Proteins B-rafbevacizumabcetuximabcirculating tumor DNAFOLFOXIRIliquid biopsymutational load

Identifiers

PMID39630848
PMCPMC11793001

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Registered trials

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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.