Research conducted under the auspices of an RSNA Research and Education Foundation grant has identified a new, noninvasive biomarker that could help monitor the treatment response of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
A team led by Dr. Everett Moding, PhD, of Stanford University found that midtreatment circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels could help clinicians predict patients' progression-free survival and thus tailor chemoradiation treatment. Moding is a radiation oncologist.
"Our results provide important evidence that ctDNA analysis may be able to guide personalized therapeutic approaches in non-small cell lung cancer," Moding said in a report published May 21 by the RSNA. "We anticipate that our results, in combination with the growing evidence that ctDNA levels are prognostic in other solid cancers, will lead to prospective clinical trials to test whether personalization of radiation therapy and/or adjuvant therapy based on ctDNA levels has clinical utility."
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
