Dr. Kopetz the Current State of ctDNA Testing in CRC

Edmund Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, FACP, professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the current state of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in colorectal cancer (CRC).

In the United States, ctDNA assays are approved for reimbursement by many insurance companies, including Medicare, Kopetz says. As a result, ctDNA testing is being routinely performed for patients with CRC. However, no standard of care has been established for patients who are ctDNA positive. Therefore, patients who have ctDNA-positive CRC should seek out clinical trials evaluating novel therapeutics, Kopetz explains.

Ultimately, ctDNA testing is currently prognostic but is not able to be utilized to inform treatment decisions, Kopetz says. However, this is an active area of investigation, and efforts are being made by advocacy groups to compile lists of resources available to support patients with ctDNA-positive CRC during this transitional time in oncology. One such resource is crcmrd.com, which helps patients understand their results and match them to available clinical trials, Kopetz concludes.