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SCREENING

A cfDNA-based approach is feasible

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology volume 18, page 603 (2021)Cite this article

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The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening with annual low-dose CT (LDCT) scans for individuals with a high risk of lung cancer; however, adherence is low (~6%). Now, new data support cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentome analysis as a feasible non-invasive approach to lung cancer screening.

DNA evaluation of fragments for early interception (DELFI), a machine learning-based approach, was previously developed to identify cancer-related differences in genome-wide cfDNA fragmentation patterns. DELFI was applied to analyse blood samples from the LUCAS cohort, a prospective observational study involving symptomatic individuals (n = 323) or asymptomatic individuals with a suspicious finding on chest CT (n = 42) with 7–8 years of clinical follow-up. Lung cancer or benign nodules were detected by tissue biopsy in 129 and 87 individuals, respectively; 149 individuals did not undergo a biopsy owing to low suspicion of cancer.

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Original article

  • Mathios, D. et al. Detection and characterization of lung cancer using cell-free DNA fragmentomes. Nat. Commun. 12, 5060 (2021)

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  1. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology http://www.nature.com/nrclinonc

    Diana Romero

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  1. Diana Romero
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Correspondence to Diana Romero.

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Romero, D. A cfDNA-based approach is feasible. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 18, 603 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-021-00557-2

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