Clinical impact of prospective circulating tumour DNA testing for minimal residual disease in colorectal cancer: the INTERCEPT programme experience.

Longitudinal circulating tumour DNA testing predicts recurrence in colorectal cancer with 79.9% sensitivity, enabling earlier interventions beyond 12 months post-surgery.

• Why it matters: Accurate detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) is crucial for improving patient management and outcomes, especially in stage IV colorectal cancer where current therapies have limited durability.
• What they did: The INTERCEPT study prospectively monitored patients with stage II-IV colorectal cancer using tissue-informed ctDNA assays over time, assessing its prognostic value and lead time to recurrence.
• The result: Findings show ctDNA detection correlates with higher recurrence risk and guides more intensive imaging, supporting its role in risk stratification and timing of interventions, though further studies are needed for clinical implementation.