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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Head and Neck Cancer
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1473262

Plasma Cell-Free DNA as Predictor of Disease Status in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer-A Prospective Study from a Tertiary Care Institution

Provisionally accepted
Rashi Goel Rashi Goel Swayamjeet Satapathy Swayamjeet Satapathy Kunal R. Chandekar Kunal R. Chandekar Sanjana Ballal Sanjana Ballal Shipra Agarwal Shipra Agarwal SVS Deo SVS Deo Madhavi Tripathi Madhavi Tripathi Chandrasekhar Bal Chandrasekhar Bal *
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) estimation offers a non-invasive method to potentially diagnose, monitor, and prognosticate patients with malignancy. This prospective study aimed to assess plasma cfDNA levels in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) to determine its role in predicting disease status in the post-operative setting. Materials and Methods: This was a single-centre prospective observational study conducted at a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. 254 patients with DTC in the post-operative setting were included: 95 in Group 1 (active structural disease) and 159 in Group 2 (disease-free). Blood samples were collected for plasma separation and cfDNA extraction. The cfDNA concentrations were quantified and compared across various disease states. Results: Median values of plasma cfDNA (ng/µL) in groups 1 and 2 were found to be 0.272 (IQR: 0.137-0.442) and 0.222 (IQR: 0.123-0.398), respectively with no significant difference (p=0.122). cfDNA levels were significantly higher in patients in the age group ≥55 years (p=0.016). However, the cfDNA levels were not significantly associated with any of the other known prognostic markers of DTC. Discussion: Based on the results of this study, plasma cfDNA levels did not significantly predict disease status in patients with DTC in the post-operative setting.

    Keywords: Differentiated thyroid cancer, Plasma, cell-free DNA, cfDNA, liquid biopsy, Qubit fluorometer

    Received: 30 Jul 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Goel, Satapathy, Chandekar, Ballal, Agarwal, Deo, Tripathi and Bal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Chandrasekhar Bal, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

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