Resident Department of Urology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark Odense M, Syddanmark, Denmark
Background: Over the last decade, there has been an increasing interest in the potential for liquid biopsies and systematic biomarkers in diagnosis and management of kidney cancer, as they may provide a tool for early detection of diseases and monitoring treatment response. But how far are we? The aim of this study was to identify and summarize the relevant published data on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), to investigate the use and potential of ctDNA in RCC.
Methods: We performed a systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Re-views and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statements of studies identified in PubMed.gov, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library up to January 15th, 2021. Two reviewers independently screened all articles and performed the data extraction.
Results: Nineteen studies investigating ctDNA in RCC (1237 patients) were included and analyzed in the final review. The size and design of the studies varied widely, and the studies were divided in-to five groups, based on the method used for ctDNA detection. The outcome data included: (1) Sensitivity/specificity if possible. (2) Method used for ctDNA detection. (3) Main findings of the studies.
Conclusions: The studies highlight that the level of ctDNA in RCC appears to be low. Studies using multiple methods for ctDNA detection indicate, that tumor-guided analysis improves ctDNA detection rate and suggest that cfMeDIP-seq may be a very sensitive method for ctDNA detection in RCC.