AUTHOR=Baraniskin Alexander , Baba Hideo A. , Theegarten Dirk , Mika Thomas , Schroers Roland , Klein-Scory Susanne 

TITLE=Liquid biopsy can cure early colorectal cancer recurrence – Case Report

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2023.1141833

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2023.1141833

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=In the context of CRC, the term minimal residual disease (MRD) means the detection of cell-free, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after curative-intent treatment including surgery +/- adjuvant treatment. ctDNA has become an excellent biomarker to predict which patients with CRC are likely to relapse due to the persistence of micrometastases. MRD diagnosis via analysis of ctDNA may allow much earlier detection of relapse compared with conventional diagnosis during follow-up. It should lead to an increased rate of curative-intended complete resection of an asymptomatic relapse. 
Besides, ctDNA can provide crucial information on whether and how intensively adjuvant or additive therapy should be administered.
In the present case, analysis of ctDNA gave us a crucial hint to the use of more intensive di-agnostics (MRI and PET-CT) which led to earlier detection of CRC relapse and enabled a complete resection with curative intent.