Circulating tumour DNA for detection of minimal residual disease in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A new hope

Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) demonstrates its potential clinical utility in the different stages of cancer management1. Regarding its use for the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD), the fundamental basis is that the presence of ctDNA after completion of primary treatment might indicate incomplete eradication of cancer cells. Positive ctDNA detected at post-treatment analysis thus has prognostic implications and has been shown to be associated with a higher risk of recurrence and worse survival in multiple cancer types2-6.