Blood test predicts immunotherapy benefit early among patients with advanced lung cancer

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy discovered that a blood test, known as liquid biopsy, can predict early on whether advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients respond to immunotherapy. Published in Clinical Cancer Research on July 23, the study involved 109 patients who received anti-PD-(L)1 immunotherapy.

By analyzing plasma samples taken during the first 3-9 weeks of treatment, researchers found that the absence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) predicted disease progression-free and overall survival. The blood test proved as accurate as repeated blood sampling, making it practical for routine care. Senior author Valsamo Elsa Anagnostou, M.D., Ph.D., emphasized the importance of this tumor-naive, single-time-point approach, stating it can facilitate early treatment decisions.

Unlike immunotherapy, which can cause confusing early imaging results, the blood test could help physicians better understand ambiguous scans and switch to more effective therapies sooner. The study overcame challenges by using an approach that does not require tumor tissue, instead analyzing DNA from white blood cells. This allowed for accurate identification of true tumor DNA, overcoming issues with age-related genetic changes in blood cells.

The study was conducted using the Johns Hopkins Immunobiology Blood and Tissue Collection Protocol, a prospectively designed clinical biobanking program that collected blood samples and clinical data from patients with thoracic cancers.