Some patients with early breast cancer receive chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumour. After surgery, doctors examine the tissue to see whether any cancer remains. If it does, that patient has a higher chance of the disease coming back, so additional treatment is added.
Currently we have no reliable way to tell which patients still have tiny amounts of cancer hiding in their body. A new blood test, calledtumour-informed ctDNA, can detect very small traces of cancer DNA in the bloodstream. This may help doctors decide who truly needs more treatment and who does not.
We aim to determine whether this blood test can be successfully performed in our clinic, and build a system inside our electronic medical record (EPIC) that automatically identifies patients who are eligible for the test.
Twenty-five (25) patients with early breast cancer, whose tissue still shows cancer after chemotherapy and surgery, will join this pilot study. Each will have the blood test soon after surgery and again at 6 and 12 months. Patients will be followed for one year. The project will be considered successful if at least 80% of the blood test steps work as planned, and our EPIC system correctly identifies eligible patients. This study builds the foundation our centre needs to join future ctDNA trials and to use this test in routine care once its value is proven.
