Abstract:
Objective This clinical study examined circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and tumor interstitial fluid (TIF) in the diagnosis and monitoring of glioma, and the value of these ctDNAs in targeted drug screening.
Methods CSF, TIF, and blood specimens were collected from patients diagnosed with brain glioma. Next generation sequencing was performed in CSF and TIF to detect ctDNA mutations. Leucocyte germ line mutations were detected in blood specimens. Tumor mutation genes were screened out by comparing the testing result. Combined with clinical data, the results of CSF-ctDNA and TIF-ctDNA detection in glioma patients were compared and bioinformatics analysis was performed.
Results A total of 209 variants of 57 gene types were detected. The average number of mutations in the samples was 8.7. with an average of 4.3 in CSF-ctDNA and 13 in TIF-ctDNA. The positive rate of CSFctDNA and TIF-ctDNA detection was 75.0% (n=9) and 91.6% (n=11), respectively. The TIF-ctDNA concentration of the same patient was higher than that of CSF-ctDNA. The average TIF-ctDNA concentration was higher than that of CSF-ctDNA (3.38 ng/μL vs. 0.58 ng/μL). The time of recurrence was 2.9 months earlier by ctDNA testing than that of imaging diagnosis. Twelve mutated genes (PIK3CA, PTEN, KRAS, EGFR, TP53, NF1, BRCA1, BRCA2, TSC1, TSC2, IDH1, and CDKN2A) were matched to potentially beneficial drugs. The PIK3CA, KRAS, and EGFR mutated genes were matched to drugs with the potential for development of resistance.
Conclusions Examination of CSF-ctDNA and TIF-ctDNA can detect tumor recurrence earlier than imaging. The approach is feasible for the repeated detection and screening of glioma markers in tumor occurrence and recurrence, and can inform gene diagnosis and targeted therapy of glioma patients. The concentration of TIF-ctDNA in samples was greater than that of CSF-ctDNA. The average number, positive rate, and detection efficiency of gene mutations in glioma patients were higher in TIF-ctDNA testing. These higher values can provide more comprehensive tumor genome data and are more suitable to obtain gene expression information about glioma patients in clinical practice.