A study looking at circulating tumour DNA for non small cell lung cancer (LUCID)
Cancer type:
Status:
Phase:
This study was done to find out more about small pieces of genetic material (
) that cancer cells can release into the bloodstream. This is called circulating tumour DNA, or ctDNA.
The study was for people with stage 1, 2 or 3 non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). They were due to have treatment aimed at curing their cancer.
It was open for people to join between 2015 and 2017. The team published the results in 2022
More about this trial
Many people with advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in their blood.
Researchers hope that testing for and measuring ctDNA in earlier stage cancer could help doctors to:
- find cancers earlier
- decide which treatments to use
- find out how well treatment is working
The main aims of this study were to find out if:
- it is possible to test for ctDNA in people who are due to have treatment for NSCLC
- measuring ctDNA can help predict how well treatment will work
Summary of results
Study design
This study was for people with stage 1, 2 or 3 non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This means it may have grown into tissue or lymph nodes around the lung. But it hasn’t spread to another part of the body.
The people who took part had regular blood tests before, during and after treatment. The study team also looked at samples of their cancer cells.
Results
The research team took a total of 363 blood samples from the 88 people who joined this trial. This included:
- 43 people with stage 1 lung cancer
- 25 people with stage 2 lung cancer
- 20 people with stage 3 lung cancer
They were able to analyse the results for 78 people. They looked at the number of people who had in their blood samples before treatment. They found it was:
- 10 out of 41 people (24%) who had stage 1 cancer
- 17 out of 22 people (77%) who had stage 2 cancer
- 13 out of 15 people (87%) who had stage 3 cancer
They also found that 18 out of 28 people (64%) whose cancer came back, had ctDNA in their blood after treatment.
They found that ctDNA in blood samples was linked to:
- a shorter time until the cancer started to grow again
- living for a shorter time
Conclusion
The study team concluded that measuring ctDNA in people with earlier stage NSCLC can help predict whose cancer is most likely to come back. They suggest this could be used to decide who would benefit from extra treatment.
They hope that in the future the test will be accurate enough to help decide who needs less treatment to begin with.
More detailed information
There is more information about this research in the reference below.
Please note, the information that we link to here is not in plain English. It has been written for healthcare professionals and researchers.
Residual ctDNA after treatment predicts early relapse in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer
D Gale and others
Annals of Oncology, 2022. Volume 33, issue 5, pages 500 to 510.
Where this information comes from
We have based this summary on the information in the article above. This has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. We have not analysed the data ourselves. As far as we are aware, the link we list above is active and the article is free and available to view.
Recruitment start:
Recruitment end:
How to join a clinical trial
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Chief Investigator
Dr Nitzan Rosenfeld
Supported by
Cancer Research UK
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
Sociedad Española de Oncología Médica
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
