Abstract

< 0.001) and predictive of longer progression free survival. Notably, a slower kinetic of ctDNA decline was observed in patients treated with immunotherapy compared to those on BRAF/MEK inhibitors. Whole exome sequencing of ctDNA was also conducted in 9 patients commencing anti-PD-1 therapy to derive tumour mutational burden (TMB) and neoepitope load measurements. The results showed a trend of high TMB and neoepitope load in responders compared to non-responders. Overall, our data suggest that changes in ctDNA can serve as an early indicator of outcomes in metastatic melanoma patients treated with systemic therapies and therefore may serve as a tool to guide treatment decisions.

Authors	Marsavela, Gabriela; Johansson, Peter A; Pereira, Michelle R; McEvoy, Ashleigh C; Reid, Anna L; Robinson, Cleo; Warburton, Lydia; Khattak, Muhammad A; Meniawy, Tarek M; Amanuel, Benhur; Millward, Michael; Hayward, Nicholas K; Ziman, Melanie R; Gray, Elin S; Calapre, Leslie
Journal	Cancers
Pages
Volume	12
Date	1/12/2020
Grant ID	1100249
Funding Body	Cancer Council WA
URL	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=10.3390/cancers12123793