Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42823553›Full record

ReviewWorld journal of urology2026

Circulating tumour DNA and extrachromosomal DNA in prostate and bladder cancer: biology, clinical applications and future perspectives.

Jihane Elmasmoudi, Axel S Merseburger

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In one paragraph

Review in World journal of urology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

2 authors.

Jihane ElmasmoudiDepartment of Urology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-8069-5444
Axel S MerseburgerDepartment of Urology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany. axel.merseburger@uksh.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6467-3931

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo critically appraise circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) and extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in prostate and bladder cancer, and to define what evidence links the two.

methodsNarrative review of search period July-September 2026, supplemented by reference-list and citation screening, covering ctDNA and ecDNA biology, detection and clinical application in prostate and urothelial cancer. The ctDNA-ecDNA interface was appraised using a five-tier evidentiary framework (copy-number gain; structural rearrangement; amplicon-graph reconstruction; phasing/optical mapping; orthogonal validation).

resultsIn bladder cancer, the phase 3 IMvigor011 trial validated ctDNA-guided adjuvant atezolizumab (disease-free survival [DFS] HR 0.64; overall survival [OS] HR 0.59), while persistently ctDNA-negative patients had 2-year DFS/OS of 88.4%/97.1% without adjuvant therapy. In prostate cancer, ctDNA positivity and androgen-receptor alterations are strongly prognostic (median OS 29.0 vs. 47.4 months; HR 2.0), but no prospective ctDNA-guided interventional trial exists. ecDNA is present in approximately 36% of urothelial carcinomas and drives oncogene amplification, heterogeneity, immune evasion and resistance. Evidence linking the two is indirect and asymmetric: prostate cancer offers stronger longitudinal ctDNA evidence via plasma AR-ecDNA proxy signatures, whereas bladder cancer shows stronger structural evidence from urinary sediment; no structurally validated blood ecDNA has been reported. This evidence derives predominantly from metastatic cohorts (mCRPC, post-cystectomy bladder cancer), with no established role in earlier-stage or minimal-residual-disease settings.

conclusionctDNA is clinically actionable in bladder cancer and prognostic in advanced prostate cancer, whereas ecDNA remains an investigational driver. Structural confirmation of ecDNA in blood, assay standardisation and prospective biomarker-stratified trials are the priorities for the field.

Indexed as

Circulating Tumor DNAProstatic NeoplasmsUrinary Bladder NeoplasmsExtrachromosomal DNAForecastingHumansMaleCirculating Tumor DNAExtrachromosomal DNABladder cancerCirculating tumour DNA (ctDNA)Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA)Liquid biopsyMinimal residual diseaseProstate cancer

Identifiers

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Registered trials

None linked

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.