Dr. Nallapareddy on the Use of ctDNA Testing in Colorectal Cancer

Sujatha Nallapareddy, MD, gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, discusses the use of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

An interesting topic of discussion is that of ctDNA testing, says Nallapareddy—specifically, how this testing is utilized in CRC and when the right time to use it is. For example, if patients are getting chemotherapy, would their ctDNA be altered, and as such, would their treatment be altered? In this way, ctDNA may be considered prognostic but not yet predictive.

There remain many unanswered questions, adds Nallapareddy. Currently, ctDNA is being studied in clinical trials, and, as such, is not being used in routine practice. Therefore, Nallapareddy tends to limit its use to patients in whom there are not enough tumor samples available to test for additional targets.