Using ctDNA to Detect Minimal Residual Disease After Lung Cancer Resection

June 8, 2026 updated by: University Health Network, Toronto

From Liquid Biopsy to Cure: Using ctDNA Detection of Minimal Residual Disease to Identify Patients for Curative Therapy After Lung Cancer Resection (ctDNALung-Detect)

ctDNALung-Detect is an investigator-initiated single arm, multi-institution study designed to assess the ctDNA detection rate and its association with Relapse Free Survival (RFS) in operable stage T1-T4 (T3,T4 multifocal) N0M0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
360

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
        • Recruiting
        • University Health Network
        • Contact:
          • Natasha Leighl, MD
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
        • Recruiting
        • St. Joseph's Health Centre
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Michael Ko, MD, PhD
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
        • Recruiting
        • Michael Garron Hospital
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Najib Safieddine, MD
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Early stage (T1-T4 (T3,T4 multifocal) N0M0) non-small cell lung cancer, with planned complete surgical resection.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age ≥ 18 years;
  2. Ability to provide written informed consent;
  3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1;
  4. T1-T4 (T3,T4 multifocal) N0M0 NSCLC who are planned for complete surgical resection;
  5. Tumour size must be at least 1 cm (unidimensional) and have at least some solid component on imaging;
  6. Surgical tumour formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens for ctDNA studies are required.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Prior radiation, surgery or chemotherapy for the current diagnosis of NSCLC is not permitted.
  2. Incomplete surgical resection. Participants who had pre-operative ctDNA samples taken but subsequently do not have a complete surgical resection would not qualify for post-operative ctDNA testing.
  3. Concurrent enrolment in a therapeutic study using drug or radiation therapy. Enrolment in observational, diagnostic or studies of novel surgical techniques will be allowed.
  4. Concurrent active malignancy or other invasive malignancy within previous 2 years. Non-invasive malignancies (i.e., cervical carcinoma in situ, in situ prostate cancer, non-melanomatous carcinoma of the skin, ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast that has been surgically cured) are excluded from this definition.
  5. Pregnancy.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Other
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rate of ctDNA Detection
Time Frame: Up to 24 Months
The percentages of pre-operative and post-operative ctDNA detection in patients with T1-T4N0 (T3, T4 multifocal) NSCLC will be estimated together with their Clopper-Pearson exact 95% CIs.
Up to 24 Months
Relapse Free Survival
Time Frame: Up to 36 Months
Relapse free survival (RFS) will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the logrank test among patients with and without detectable ctDNA pre- or post-operatively.
Up to 36 Months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall Survival
Time Frame: Up to 36 Months
Overall survival (OS) will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test between patients with and without detectable ctDNA pre- or post-operatively.
Up to 36 Months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University Health Network, Toronto

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 6, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 14, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 14, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 24, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 20-6199

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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