Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40682179›Full record

ArticleJournal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR2025

Monitoring soluble cMET and ctDNA in metastatic uveal melanoma patients to track early disease progression on immunotherapies.

Devayani Machiraju, Christian H Ziener, Elena Clementi, Francisco García-Asencio, Jennifer Hüllein, Jasmin Richter, Bénédicte Lenoir, Melanie Wiecken, Daniel Hübschmann, Dirk Jäger and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing 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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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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.

Devayani MachirajuHeidelberg University, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Department of Dermatology and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Christian H ZienerDivision of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
Elena ClementiOncobit AG, Rütistrasse 16, Schlieren, Switzerland.
Francisco García-AsencioOncobit AG, Rütistrasse 16, Schlieren, Switzerland.
Jennifer HülleinComputational Oncology Group (CO), Molecular Precision Oncology Program (MPOP), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ); National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Jasmin RichterHeidelberg University, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Department of Dermatology and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Bénédicte LenoirClinical Cooperation Unit Applied Tumor Immunity, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Melanie WieckenHeidelberg University, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Department of Dermatology and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Daniel HübschmannComputational Oncology Group (CO), Molecular Precision Oncology Program (MPOP), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ); National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Dirk JägerClinical Cooperation Unit Applied Tumor Immunity, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
Jessica C HasselHeidelberg University, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Department of Dermatology and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a partnership between DKFZ and University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. jessica.hassel@med.uni-heidelberg.de.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMetastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) is a rare malignancy and is different from metastatic cutaneous melanoma (mCM) in tumor characteristics and efficacy to immunotherapies. Tumor-specific biomarkers are required for mUM patients to monitor early disease progression on immunotherapies.

methodsWe investigated clinical characteristics such as liver tumor burden and routine blood tumor markers, including lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and transaminases in patients with mUM and with liver metastasized cutaneous melanoma (LmCM), treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) between May 2013-February 2024. In addition, we analyzed soluble cMET (scMET) in serum samples from these patients along with a cohort of mCM patients without liver metastases (nLmCM) using ELISA. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the plasma was analyzed using digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) in mUM patients receiving immunotherapies. scMET, ctDNA, and LDH combination was used to simultaneously monitor disease progression in ICI and tebentafusp-receiving mUM patients.

resultsSixty-nine patients with mUM and seventy-six patients with LmCM were treated with either anti-PD1 monotherapy (n = 69, 48%) or ipi + nivo combination therapy (n = 76, 52%). Irrespective of the type of melanoma and type of immunotherapy, patients with liver metastasis size greater than 8cm experienced rapid disease progression. ICI-treated mUM patients with increased LDH, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), scMET, ctDNA, and rapidly growing tumors were significantly associated with treatment resistance and shorter progression-free and overall survival (p < 0.05). scMET (AUC: 0.82) outperforms LDH (AUC: 0.77) and S100 (0.68) in predicting one-year overall survival in these patients. A validation set with LmCM and nLmCM patient samples showed that increased scMET is likely a mUM-specific feature and does not predict ICI outcomes in LmCM or nLmCM patients (p > 0.05). Moreover, monitoring ctDNA and scMET in mUM patients under ICIs or tebentafusp treatment revealed the potential for early detection of disease progression.

conclusionSoluble cMET might serve as a tumor-specific biomarker to predict clinical outcomes in mUM patients. A combinational assessment of scMET and ctDNA in mUM patients' blood offers a highly sensitive potential approach to monitor early disease progression under immunotherapies with ICI or tebentafusp.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorCirculating Tumor DNAImmunotherapyMelanomaUveal NeoplasmsAdultAgedDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsLiver NeoplasmsMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisPrognosisBiomarkers, TumorCirculating Tumor DNAImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsBiomarkersCirculating tumor DNAImmune checkpoint inhibitorsLiquid biopsyLiver metastasisMetastatic uveal melanomaSoluble cMETTebentafusp

Identifiers

PMID40682179
PMCPMC12275281

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