Methylation-Based ctDNA for Post-Treatment Surveillance of Non-Viral Head and Neck Cancer

The study evaluated a methylation-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) test for detecting disease recurrence in 50 patients with non-viral head and neck cancer after treatment. Patients had primary tumors in the larynx (38%) or oral cavity (36%), mostly in advanced stages (72% stage IVA-IVB). The test demonstrated high sensitivity of 76.9% and specificity of 94.6% for detecting recurrence. Patients with positive test results had one-year progression-free survival of only 25% compared to 96.4% in those with negative results. The positive ctDNA test preceded clinical detection of recurrence in 60% of cases with a median of 131 days. The results suggest that methylation-based ctDNA testing could be useful for post-treatment surveillance in patients with this disease.