# Circulating Tumor Cells Analyses and Molecular Profiling for Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $433,777

## Abstract

Circulating Tumor Cells Analyses and Molecular Profiling for Patients Receiving
Radiation Therapy
ABSTRACT
We propose to develop a circulating tumor cell (CTC) assay with unique features and efficacy
superior to currently available CTC assays. CTC assays have attracted intense recent attention
because of the potential to serially interrogate the biology of solid tumors with minimal risk. The
resulting information obtained, including genetic information predicting response to targeted
therapy, may inform the clinical management of patients receiving radiation therapy (RT), thus
“personalizing treatment” in ways previously unachievable. We propose to study non-small cell
lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma, two solid tumors of strategic importance and for which we
have protocols rapidly accruing patients. These disease sites represent high priority for RT
treatment in our investigational clinical trials and represent examples of respectively, epithelial
and non-epithelial tumors. We have achieved preliminary data that suggests our approach
successfully detects CTCs in patients for whom the current FDA-approved CTC assay is
ineffective. Key questions regarding CTC analyses remain, the answers to which would inform
how best to incorporate these assays into standard radiation oncology practice. These
questions include: (1) Can CTCs be detected in a range of solid tumors undergoing radiation
therapy (RT) or other forms of treatment? (2) Do CTC counts give lead-time notice of disease
recurrence or progression? (3) Can the genetic background of the identified CTCs be
elucidated and does it change over time and after treatment? We will employ a CTC detection
method that relies on the elevated telomerase activity in almost all tumors, a hallmark of cancer,
which is impervious to limitations posed by the lack of surface expression of tumor markers. In
Specific Aim 1 we will track CTC counts in patients with a range of presentations of localized
NSCLC undergoing RT to test whether CTC analysis can give lead time notice of tumor
recurrence. Aim 2 will test whether CTC analysis is effective in melanoma patients undergoing
treatment, including radiation and immunotherapy. For Aim 3, we will test whether the genetic
profile of CTCs changes after treatment, including DNA mutations that predict for response to
biologically targeted agents. Our successful accomplishment of these scientific aims will
illuminate the potential usefulness of CTC assays for a wide range of patients receiving RT and
other anticancer treatment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9981676
- **Project number:** 5R01CA201071-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** JAY FITZGERALD DORSEY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $433,777
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9981676

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9981676, Circulating Tumor Cells Analyses and Molecular Profiling for Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy (5R01CA201071-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9981676. Licensed CC0.

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