Fragment size and level of cell-free DNA provide prognostic information in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: It was recently demonstrated that the size of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments that originates from tumor cells are shorter than cfDNA fragments that originates from non-malignant cells. We investigated whether cfDNA fragment size and cfDNA levels might have prognostic value in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, before (n = 61) initiation of chemotherapy and after the first cycle of chemotherapy (n = 39). Samples were separated with density centrifugation and plasma DNA was isolated. Mode cfDNA fragment size and cfDNA levels were then determined using a 2100 Bioanalyzer. A cohort of partially age-matched healthy volunteers (n = 28) constituted the control group.

RESULTS: Both a pre-treatment cfDNA fragment size of ≤ 167 bp (mode) and high pre-treatment cfDNA levels were associated with shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, multivariable Cox regression analyses demonstrated that pre-treatment cfDNA levels could independently predict prognosis for both PFS (HR = 3.049, p = 0.005) and OS (HR = 2.236, p = 0.028).

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that cfDNA fragment size and cfDNA levels can be used to predict disease outcome in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The described approach, using a rapid, economic and simple test to reveal prognostic information, has potential for future treatment stratification and monitoring.