David M. Kurtz, MD, PhD, instructor of medicine, Postdoctoral Fellow, Divisions of Oncology & Hematology, Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford University, discusses using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to detect lymphoma.

Kurtz says the in order to detect a patient’s lymphoma using ctDNA, the mutations that drive the lymphoma need to be identified first. A biopsy is taken, and is then sequenced using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform. Once the molecular bar code of the patient’s lymphoma is identified, their progress can be tracked over time through their blood plasma, Kurtz says. Through this blood draw, DNA from the plasma can be isolated and sequenced, he explains.

For patients at risk of recurrence, blood plasma samples can be sequenced. According to Kurtz, ctDNA can be used to monitor the disease throughout therapy, including at relapse and at the completion of therapy. Utilizing liquid biopsies to collect ctDNA in conjunction with NGS is a method that is being used across multiple tumor types.

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David M. Kurtz, MD, PhD, instructor of medicine, Postdoctoral Fellow, Divisions of Oncology & Hematology, Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford University, discusses using circulating tumor DNA to detect lymphoma.

Dr. Kurtz Discusses Using ctDNA to Detect Lymphoma

David M. Kurtz, MD, PhD, instructor of medicine, Postdoctoral Fellow, Divisions of Oncology & Hematology, Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford University, discusses the utility of cell-free DNA in lymphoma.

Kurtz says that researchers have been working on methods to detect a patient’s lymphoma using their cell-free DNA. Cell-free DNA is an emerging technology for detecting and diagnosing malignancies, including lymphomas, as well as solid tumors. This represents a small fraction of a total healthy cell-free DNA, which is called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), explains Kurtz. Of all the cell-free DNA molecules found in a patient’s blood plasma, 1% or less are derived from the lymphoma.

There are a number of uses for ctDNA, says Kurtz. This includes monitoring a patient’s disease during the course of therapy, monitoring for disease relapse at the completion of therapy, as well as investigating the actual biology of how a patient’s lymphoma evolves during treatment.

David M. Kurtz, MD, PhD

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Dr. Kurtz Discusses Using ctDNA to Detect Lymphoma

Dr. Kurtz on the Clinical Utility of Cell-Free DNA in Lymphoma