Zhou XY, Jiang YJ, Guo XM, Han DH, Liu Y, Qiao Q. Application of circulating tumor DNA liquid biopsy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A case report and review of literature. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(21): 105066 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i21.105066]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Qiao Qiao, PhD, Professor, Chief Physician, Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, No. 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110000, Liaoning Province, China. braveheart8063@outlook.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Xin-Yao Zhou, Qiao Qiao, Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Yuan-Jun Jiang, Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning Province, China
Xiao-Ming Guo, Dong-Hui Han, Yao Liu, Department of Artificial Intelligence and Algorithm R and D, Neusoft IntelliRay Technology, Shenyang 110000, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Jiang YJ and Qiao Q conceived and designed this study; Zhou XY and Guo XM performed treatment on patient and collected data; Zhou XY and Liu Y analyzed and interpreted the data; Zhou XY and Han DH drafted the manuscript; Qiao Q and Jiang YJ confirmed the authenticity of all original data. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Beijing Bethune Charitable Foundation and Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning, No. 2022-MS-190.
Informed consent statement: The Informed consent was obtained directly from the patient.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qiao Qiao, PhD, Professor, Chief Physician, Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, No. 155 Nanjing North Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110000, Liaoning Province, China. braveheart8063@outlook.com
Received: January 12, 2025 Revised: March 5, 2025 Accepted: March 26, 2025 Published online: July 26, 2025 Processing time: 107 Days and 14.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-based liquid biopsy has been found to be effective for the detection of minimal residual disease and the evaluation of prognostic risk in various solid tumors, with good sensitivity and specificity for identifying patients at high risk of recurrence. However, use of its results as a biomarker for guiding the treatment and predicting the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been reported.
CASE SUMMARY
In this case study of a patient with stage IVb NPC, we utilized ctDNA as an independent biomarker to guide treatment. Chemotherapy was administered in the early stages of the disease, and local intensity-modulated radiation therapy was added when the patient tested positive for ctDNA, while radiation therapy was stopped and the patient was observed when the ctDNA test was negative. During the follow-up period, ctDNA signals became positive before tumor progression and became negative again at the end of treatment. We also explored the potential of ctDNA in combination with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) DNA status to predict the prognosis of NPC patients, as well as the criteria for selecting genetic mutations and the testing cycle for ctDNA analysis.
CONCLUSION
The results of ctDNA-based liquid biopsy can serve as an independent biomarker, either independently or in conjunction with EBV DNA status, to guide the treatment and predict the prognosis of NPC.
Core Tip: The results of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-based minimal residual disease testing have been used as a biomarker for some solid tumors, but their use as a biomarker to guide the treatment and predict the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not yet been reported. We report a patient who tested positive for ctDNA and negative for Epstein‒Barr virus DNA. During the follow-up period, ctDNA signals became positive before tumor progression and became negative again at the end of treatment. This study represents a breakthrough in the use of biomarkers to assess the prognosis of NPC.
