Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 26, 2025; 13(21): 105066
Published online Jul 26, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i21.105066
Application of circulating tumor DNA liquid biopsy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A case report and review of literature
Xin-Yao Zhou, Yuan-Jun Jiang, Xiao-Ming Guo, Dong-Hui Han, Yao Liu, Qiao Qiao
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
Core Tip

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.