Juliane Lippert, Gabrielle Smith, Silke Appenzeller, Laura-Sophie Landwehr, Alessandro Prete, Sonja Steinhauer, Miriam Asia, Hanna Urlaub, Yasir S Elhassan, Stefan Kircher, Wiebke Arlt, Martin Fassnacht, Barbara Altieri, Cristina L Ronchi
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare aggressive cancer with heterogeneous behaviour. Disease surveillance relies on frequent imaging, which comes with significant radiation exposure. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA)-related biomarkers (BMs) for prognostication and monitoring of ACC.
Design and methods: We investigated 34 patients with ACC and 23 healthy subjects (HSs) as controls. Circulating cell-free DNA was extracted by commercial kits and ccfDNA concentrations were quantified by fluorimeter (BM1). Targeted sequencing was performed using a customized panel of 27 ACC-specific genes. Leucocyte DNA was used to discriminate somatic variants (BM2), while tumour DNA was sequenced in 22/34 cases for comparison. Serial ccfDNA samples were collected during follow-up in 19 ACC patients (median period 9 months) and analysed in relationship with standard radiological imaging.
Results: Circulating cell-free DNA concentrations were higher in ACC than HS (mean ± SD, 1.15 ± 1.56 vs 0.05 ± 0.05 ng/µL, P < .0001), 96% of them being above the cut-off of 0.146 ng/µL (mean HS + 2 SD, positive BM1). At ccfDNA sequencing, 47% of ACC showed at least 1 somatic mutation (positive BM2). A combined ccfDNA-BM score was strongly associated with both progression-free and overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.63; 95% CI, 1.13-6.13; P = .010, and HR = 5.98; 95% CI, 2.29-15.6; P = .0001, respectively). During disease monitoring, positive BM2 showed the best specificity (100%) and sensitivity (67%) to detect ACC recurrence or progress compared with BM1.
Conclusion: ccfDNA-related BMs are frequently detected in ACC patients and represent a promising, minimally invasive tool to predict clinical outcome and complement surveillance imaging. Our findings will be validated in a larger cohort of ACCs with long-term follow-up.
期刊介绍:
European Journal of Endocrinology is the official journal of the European Society of Endocrinology. Its predecessor journal is Acta Endocrinologica.
The journal publishes high-quality original clinical and translational research papers and reviews in paediatric and adult endocrinology, as well as clinical practice guidelines, position statements and debates. Case reports will only be considered if they represent exceptional insights or advances in clinical endocrinology.
Topics covered include, but are not limited to, Adrenal and Steroid, Bone and Mineral Metabolism, Hormones and Cancer, Pituitary and Hypothalamus, Thyroid and Reproduction. In the field of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism we welcome manuscripts addressing endocrine mechanisms of disease and its complications, management of obesity/diabetes in the context of other endocrine conditions, or aspects of complex disease management. Reports may encompass natural history studies, mechanistic studies, or clinical trials.
Equal consideration is given to all manuscripts in English from any country.