Using ctDNA to Determine Therapies for Lung Cancer

For people who have early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the usual treatment is surgery. For many people, surgery is enough to get rid of all the cancer. However, for some people, there may be a little bit of cancer remaining. If there is some cancer left over, it may lead to the cancer regrowing. This is called relapse. Many cancers shed little bits of their DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, molecules that contain instructions for how cells develop and function) into the bloodstream. A blood test can be used to test for the amount of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). Some studies have shown that the presence of ctDNA in the blood may predict cancer recurrence. The purpose of this research study is to see if adjuvant treatment (additional treatment given after primary treatment) can help decrease the risk of the cancer recurring in people with lung cancer who have ctDNA detected in their blood after surgery.