With the advent of targeted cancer therapies and immunotherapy, and with new CAR-T therapies on the way, more cancer patients are living with their disease.

However, many cancer patients find that their therapies have limitations and are faced with the potential of disease progression. Often, those who initially respond to a course of treatment eventually develop a resistance to these medications, forcing oncologists to switch therapeutic course.

Currently, one of the ways to know when a treatment stops working is by taking a biopsy of the tumor. These surgical procedures are invasive and costly, and because they can only be done sporadically, valuable treatment time can be lost. Additionally, some cancer patients may be too physically fragile for surgery.

Researchers have been looking for a safe, fast, less expensive and more accurate way to identify early signs of treatment resistance, while also searching for new insights into the genetic changes that occur within tumor cells to drive this resistance. This way, new therapy plans can be considered sooner, giving the patient a better chance for their best possible outcome.

A new diagnostic blood test known as a liquid biopsy has shown early promise in addressing these needs. Now researchers, including a team from the Mass General Cancer Center, are providing confirmatory data that may help to move liquid biopsies into clinical practice. These data were presented at the ESMO 19th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer.

How do liquid biopsies work?

A liquid biopsy is a diagnostic test that detects circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), which is genetic material released by dying tumor cells that flows through the bloodstream. These tests are less invasive than a tissue biopsy and therefore can be given with greater frequency.

Regularly monitoring ctDNA levels in a patient’s bloodstream can provide early notice when a treatment is no longer working. It could also offer a more complete picture of the genetic changes in tumor cells that are driving the resistance to treatment, which could guide new treatment courses.

Liquid Biopsies and Gastrointestinal Cancer Study

Mass General Cancer Center investigators followed nearly 40 patients with various forms of gastrointestinal cancers who had experienced initial success with targeted therapies, but then began to show signs of treatment resistance. Liquid biopsies were taken when the patients’ disease started to progress to analyze the levels and genetic profile of ctDNA in their bloodstream. Researchers identified one or more mutations or mechanisms that contributed to treatment resistance in 31 of the 40 patients. Fourteen of these patients had multiple mutations that contributed to resistance.

In patients who had both solid tissue biopsies and the liquid biopsies, the researchers found that in two-thirds of the cases, the liquid biopsies revealed the presence of more genetic mutations than tissue biopsies alone.

“Identifying what specific mutations are responsible for treatment resistance is very important in helping clinicians choosing what treatment path a patient should try next, whether it be another drug or perhaps radiation,” said study investigator Aparna Parikh, MD, from the Mass General Cancer Center.

“We have shown this approach is feasible across many different GI cancers,” she noted. “The next step is to study how best to use this new technology in daily practice. It’s important for clinicians to understand its utility as well as its limitations.”

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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