Short Report: Plasma Based Biomarkers Detect Radiation Induced Brain Injury in Cancer Patients Treated for Brain Metastasis: A Pilot Study

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2023 Nov 28

PMID 38015964

Authors

Chen Makranz

Asael Lubotzky

Hai Zemmour

Ruth Shemer

Benjamin Glaser

Jonathan Cohen

Myriam Maoz

Eli Sapir

Marc Wygoda

Tamar Peretz

Noam Weizman

Jon Feldman

Ross A Abrams

Alexander Lossos

Yuval Dor

Aviad Zick

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Radiotherapy has an important role in the treatment of brain metastases but carries risk of short and/or long-term toxicity, termed radiation-induced brain injury (RBI). As the diagnosis of RBI is crucial for correct patient management, there is an unmet need for reliable biomarkers for RBI. The aim of this proof-of concept study is to determine the utility of brain-derived circulating free DNA (BncfDNA), identified by specific methylation patterns for neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, as biomarkers brain injury induced by radiotherapy.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with brain metastases were monitored clinically and radiologically before, during and after brain radiotherapy, and blood for BncfDNA analysis (98 samples) was concurrently collected. Sixteen patients were treated with whole brain radiotherapy and eight patients with stereotactic radiosurgery.

Results: During follow-up nine RBI events were detected, and all correlated with significant increase in BncfDNA levels compared to baseline. Additionally, resolution of RBI correlated with a decrease in BncfDNA. Changes in BncfDNA were independent of tumor response.

Conclusions: Elevated BncfDNA levels reflects brain cell injury incurred by radiotherapy. further research is needed to establish BncfDNA as a novel plasma-based biomarker for brain injury induced by radiotherapy.

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