Journal
NEURO-ONCOLOGY
Volume 23, Issue 10, Pages 1789-1797Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noab057
Keywords
blood-brain barrier; brain tumor; focused ultrasound; glioblastoma; liquid biopsy
Categories
Funding
- InSightec
- Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation
- Focused Ultrasound Foundation
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences AFP Innovation Fund
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study demonstrates that MRgFUS has the potential to enrich circulating brain-derived biomarkers, showing promising applications for liquid biopsy in the brain.
Background. Liquid biopsy is promising for early detection, monitoring of response, and recurrence of cancer. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the shedding of biomarker, such as cell-free DNA (cfDNA), into the blood from brain tumors, and their detection by conventional assays. Transcranial MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) can safely and transiently open the BBB, providing an opportunity for less-invasive access to brain pathology. We hypothesized that MRgFUS can enrich the signal of circulating brain-derived biomarkers to aid in liquid biopsy. Methods. Nine patients were treated in a prospective single-arm, open-label trial to investigate serial MRgFUS and adjuvant temozolomide combination in patients with glioblastoma (NCT03616860). Blood samples were collected as an exploratory measure within the hours before and after sonication, with control samples from non-brain tumor patients undergoing BBB opening (BBBO) alone (NCT03739905). Results. Brain regions averaging 7.8 +/- 6.0 cm(3) (range 0.8-23.1 cm(3)) were successfully treated within 111 +/- 39 minutes without any serious adverse events. We found MRgFUS acutely enhanced plasma cfDNA (2.6 +/- 1.2-fold, P < .01, Wilcoxon signed-rank test), neuron-derived extracellular vesicles (3.2 +/- 1.9-fold, P < .01), and brain-specific protein S100b (1.4 +/- 0.2-fold, P < .01). Further comparison of the cfDNA methylation profiles suggests a signature that is disease- and post-BBBO-specific, in keeping with our hypothesis, We also found cfDNA-mutant copies of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) increased, although this was in only one patient known to harbor the tumor mutation. Conclusions. This first-in-human proof-of-concept study shows MRgFUS enriches the signal of circulating brain-derived biomarkers, demonstrating the potential of the technology to support liquid biopsy for the brain.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available