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Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics / Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations / Cancer Cells and Metastasis · Journal article
Frontiers in Oncology · September 4, 2026
A consensus or society position rather than new primary data.
This is a narrative review examining the biological foundations and clinical utility of ctDNA-based minimal residual disease detection in non-metastatic NSCLC. It summarizes current evidence and identifies technical and clinical challenges for integrating ctDNA assessment into routine practice, but does not present original trial results or definitive efficacy data.
Narrative review. Patients with early-stage to locally advanced non-metastatic NSCLC; recurrent disease post-perioperative and consolidative immunotherapy.
ctDNA liquid biopsy enables non-invasive detection of tumor-derived DNA from biological fluids ctDNA analysis is routinely used in metastatic NSCLC for identifying actionable genomic alterations and resistance mechanisms ctDNA-based MRD detection offers potential for early risk stratification to identify patients who may benefit from treatment escalation or de-escalation
Safety was not reported in the material analysed. Check the source before drawing any conclusion about harm.
Clinicians should understand that ctDNA-based MRD detection is emerging as a tool for risk stratification in non-metastatic NSCLC, potentially guiding treatment intensification or de-escalation decisions. However, this review does not provide quantitative efficacy data or definitive evidence supporting routine clinical adoption; integration into practice remains under development.
A narrative review synthesizing biological foundations, technological approaches, and current evidence for ctDNA-based MRD detection in non-metastatic NSCLC, without reporting original trial data or effect sizes.
As stated by the source record.
Clinicians should understand that ctDNA-based MRD detection is emerging as a tool for risk stratification in non-metastatic NSCLC, potentially guiding treatment intensification or de-escalation decisions. However, this review does not provide quantitative efficacy data or definitive evidence supporting routine clinical adoption; integration into practice remains under development.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
What is missing. This record has no reported figures. That is a gap in the analysis, not a judgement about the study.
Despite advancements in perioperative and consolidative immunotherapy in early-stage to locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), recurrence rates remain substantial. In this context, liquid biopsy has transformed the oncological landscape by enabling the non-invasive detection of tumor-derived components, including DNA, cells, and proteins, from biological fluids. Although plasma-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis is routinely used in metastatic NSCLC to identify actionable genomic alterations at diagnosis and mechanisms of acquired resistance to targeted therapies, its application in non-metastatic disease represents a pivotal challenge. Leveraging minimal residual disease (MRD) detection through ctDNA offers the potential for early risk stratification, enabling the identification of patients who may benefit from treatment escalation, such as intensified adjuvant or consolidative regimens, while sparing low-risk patients from unnecessary toxicity through de-escalation strategies. This review summarizes the biological and technological foundations underlying ctDNA-based MRD detection, including tumor-informed and non-tumor-informed approaches, and examines the current evidence supporting its clinical utility in non-metastatic NSCLC. We also highlight key technical and clinical challenges and discuss future perspectives to optimize integration of ctDNA MRD assessment into routine clinical practice.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.