Monday February 5, 2024
For World Cancer Day (4 February), we’re highlighting the work of Eastern Health GI Oncologists Assoc/Prof Rachel Wong and Dr Margaret Lee and their involvement in the landmark DYNAMIC-II, a multi-centre Australian study evaluating a simple blood test to guide chemotherapy treatment decision making in stage II bowel cancer.
“Most patients with stage II bowel cancer are cured by surgery alone, however unfortunately 20% of our patients experience cancer recurrence.” Dr Lee explained.
“Chemotherapy can be offered to reduce the chance of the cancer returning, however only 5% of patients will benefit from such treatment.”
“The DYNAMIC-II trial evaluated a novel blood test to assess for levels of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) still present in a patient’s bloodstream after their surgery for stage II colon cancer. By using this blood test to guide decision making, they found that ctDNA testing could differentiate patients who truly need chemotherapy after surgery from those who can safely avoid treatment (and subsequent side-effects) without compromising the risk of cancer recurrence.”
“It’s a very proud moment to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine, in particular to do so with close friends and collaborators in the field who are all passionate about improving cancer research for our patients with colorectal cancer.”
This study is in collaboration with Walter Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, discussing how this CtDNA technology could be utilised in clinical practice to improve patient outcomes.