Friday, February 07, 2025 The CCTG CO28 correlative study: Tumour-free ctDNA detection as a decision tool to support organ preservation in node-negative rectal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy, excision, and observation, was presented by Dr Jonathan Loree at GI ASCO 2025. This oral abstract assessed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with T1-T3, N0 rectal cancer and found that ctDNA effectively identifies cancers with inadequate response to chemotherapy for which a more radical surgery is recommended. “This is a situation where there is often clinical uncertainty about whether a cancer has completely responded. The additional data point that ctDNA provides may help patients and clinicians make a personalized decision about whether organ preservation is an option,” said Dr Jonathan Loree, medical oncologist at BC Cancer, Associate Professor at The University of British Columbia and Senior Investigator at CCTG.The tissue-free approach supports ctDNA as an additional decision tool with endoscopic and MRI assessments to increase physician and patient comfort with organ preservation. https://dailynews.ascopubs.org/do/tumor-free-ctdna-testing-supports-organ-preservation-patients-node-negative-rectalhttps://meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/241159The 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium was held Thursday, January 23 - Saturday, January 25, 2025 in San Francisco and is a annual gathering for latest innovative science in GI cancer treatment, research, and care. The CO28: NEOadjuvant Chemotherapy, Excision and Observation for Early Rectal Cancer study investigated the effects of chemotherapy followed by less invasive surgery on patients and their early rectal cancer.
