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Recruiting NCT06726642

CfDNA in Hereditary And High-risk Malignancies 2

Observational Hereditary Cancer Syndrome

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied
The protocol lists: Cell-free DNA analysis.
Who it may be relevant to
Registry conditions: Hereditary Cancer Syndrome. Basic parameters: up to 90 years · All.
What needs checking
Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place
Canada
Next step
Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Official title

CfDNA in Hereditary And High-risk Malignancies (CHARM) 2: Evaluating the Performance of a cfDNA Blood Test for Early Cancer Detection

Overview

The goal of this study is to understand the performance of an experimental blood test that aims to detect early tumors in patients with hereditary cancer syndromes. If this new blood test is accurate, it could be used to screen patients for cancer and allow for earlier cancer detection. The study will compare cancer detection rates between those receiving the new blood test and those receiving standard care, assess if the test leads to earlier cancer diagnosis, and evaluate its impact on patient outcomes. The study will also use questionnaires and interviews to understand how patients feel about the blood test, its incorporation into routine medical care, and perceptions of the medical value of test results. This research could lead to more effective and less invasive cancer screening for high-risk individuals.

Detailed description

Through the CHARM Consortium (www.charmconsortium.ca), the investigators have shown that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) profiling can enable more frequent cancer surveillance from readily accessible blood collections. The investigators are now conducting a prospective, multi-center, randomized control trial of cfDNA testing of 1,000 HCS carriers from across Canada to 1) compare cancer detection rates with and without cfDNA testing, 2) assess cancer stage shift and clinical impact reducing mortality and morbidity cancers, and 3) assess impact of access to cfDNA results on patients' quality of life and psychological distress.

Interventions

  • Diagnostic test Cell-free DNA analysis
    Analysis of cell-free DNA in blood plasma will involve targeted sequencing of key cancer-related genes, cell-free methylated DNA immunoprecipitation and high-throughput sequencing (cfMeDIP-seq), and shallow whole genome sequencing (sWGS).

Primary outcome measures

  • Determine the cancer detection rate of the cfDNA sequencing assay in patients with HCS. [Time frame: 4 years from enrollment in the study.]
Secondary outcome measures (5)
  • To assess the time to cancer diagnosis using cfDNA sequencing compared to controls. [Time frame: 4 years from enrollment in the study.]
  • To assess the detection rate of cancers with no standard-of-care screening available using cfDNA sequencing. [Time frame: 4 years from enrollment in the study.]
  • Assess the impact of tri-annual cfDNA testing on participant cancer worry. [Time frame: 4 years from enrollment in the study.]
  • Assess the impact of tri-annual cfDNA testing on cancer risk perception. [Time frame: 4 years from enrollment in the study.]
  • Assess the impact of tri-annual cfDNA testing on cancer anxiety and depression. [Time frame: 4 years from enrollment in the study.]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC), Lynch Syndrome (LS), Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1), Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS), PALB2, and Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC), (i.e., patients with an identified pathogenic variant in the respective cancer predisposition gene, or patients with uninformative genetic testing but with a family history suggestive of the cancer predisposition syndrome).
  • Patients must be receiving standard-of-care clinical assessment for cancer by a managing physician under a provincial screening program or cancer surveillance protocol.
  • All patients must have signed and dated an informed consent form for this study.

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients must not have a personal history of cancer diagnosed and treated within 3 years prior to the expected first sample collection date for this study. If a patient has a personal history of cancer, treatment must have been completed successfully at least 3 years prior to first study sample collection.
  • Patients diagnosed more than 3 years prior to the expected first sample collection date, but never been treated for the cancer.
  • Patients undergoing investigations for a clinical suspicion of cancer.
  • Patients who are not able to comply with the protocol (i.e., tri-annual blood sample collection if randomized into the experimental cohort).

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Observational model
Case-control

Study locations

Canada · 8 centers
  • BC Cancer Agency — Vancouver
  • Eastern Health — St. John's
  • IWK Health Centre — Halifax
  • The Hospital for Sick Children — Toronto
  • Sinai Health System — Toronto
  • University Health Network — Toronto
  • Women's College Hospital — Toronto
  • Jewish General Hospital — Montreal

Publications

  • Farncombe KM, Wong D, Norman ML, Oldfield LE, Sobotka JA, Basik M, Bombard Y, Carile V, Dawson L, Foulkes WD, Malkin D, Karsan A, Parkin P, Penney LS, Pollett A, Schrader KA, Pugh TJ, Kim RH; CHARM consortium. Current and new frontiers in hereditary cancer surveillance: Opportunities for liquid biopsy. Am J Hum Genet. 2023 Oct 5;110(10):1616-1627. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.08.014. PMID 37802042

Identifiers

NCT: NCT06726642 · 23-5766

Primary sources (government registries)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗