Personalized circulating tumor DNA for minimal residual disease and dynamic assessment in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: Preliminary analysis from MSK-LINC.

Abstract

3049 Background: Identification of minimal residual disease (MRD) with circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in pts with early-stage breast cancer holds promise to identify risk of relapse. MSK-LINC is prospective ctDNA plasma analysis of breast cancer pts. This pilot study evaluated the utility of serial ctDNA assessment as a biomarker for monitoring MRD and recurrence prediction in clinical stage II-III breast cancer pts undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Methods: 30 pts who underwent NAC across all subtypes were identified from MSK-LINC. The ctDNA analysis was performed at baseline, on-NAC, post-NAC/pre-surgery, within 8 weeks post-surgery, and during follow-up. Personalized ctDNA RaDaR assays were designed using whole exome sequencing data of paired primary tumor and germline samples from each pt. ctDNA levels were quantified as an estimated variant allele fraction (eVAF). Results: ctDNA panels were successfully designed for 29/30 pts (16 Stage II, 13 Stage III), including 6 HR+/HER2-, 12 HER2+, and 11 TNBC, with a median follow up of 4.2 years. The bespoke ctDNA assays targeted a median of 48 variants (21-51), with a median of 43 variants (11-48) passing quality control. A total of 175 plasma samples were analyzed, including 24 baseline and 24 post-surgery. A 100% ctDNA detection rate was observed at baseline in the 24 pts for whom a baseline sample was available (median eVAF 0.33%, range 0.0083% - 8.91%). Pathologic complete response (pCR) was achieved in 11 pts who remained disease free; and of the 18 pts without a pCR, 5 recurred. All patients with a pCR were ctDNA negative post treatment. In 3/5 patients who recurred, MRD detection was achieved, including one patient with persistent ctDNA positivity throughout all timepoints. For the other two pts, ctDNA was first detected in follow-up plasma collected at 4.4 and 9.8 months prior to clinical recurrence. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential of ctDNA as a dynamic biomarker for monitoring disease burden in pts with high-risk early-stage breast cancer, highlighting its remarkable sensitivity at baseline and its capability for MRD detection preceding clinical recurrence. These findings suggest the need for further research to fully understand the relationship between ctDNA dynamics during and after NACT with prediction of breast cancer outcomes. ctDNA detection rates in plasma samples across collection timepoints. [Table: see text]