Multicenter prospective study of HPV circulating tumor DNA for early detection of residual disease after chemoradiation for cervical cancer

Since useful salvage therapy is not currently available for the majority of relapsed cervical cancer patients, detection of relapse as early as possible is important. A multicenter prospective study in Canada evaluated analysis of levels of HPV circulating tumor DNA in plasma of cervical cancer patients after chemoradiation. Patients with detectable HPV ctDNA at the end of CRT (panel A), four to six weeks after CRT (panel B), and three months after CRT (panel C) had significantly inferior PFS when compared with patients without detectable HPV ctDNA. On multivariable analyses, detectable HPV ctDNA remained independently associated with inferior PFS. The authors conclude that HPV ctDNA testing can identify, as early as at the end of CRT, patients at high risk of recurrence.