Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Government Funding Lapse
Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

Circulating Tumor DNA Based Minimal Residual Disease Detection for Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Trial Status: active

This clinical trial studies how well circulating tumor deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) based minimal residual disease (MRD) detection works for patients with early-stage breast cancer. MRD refers to a very small number of tumor cells that remain in the body during or after treatment. ctDNA refers to small pieces of DNA that are released into a person’s blood by tumor cells as they die. Management of patients after cancer surgery remains a clinical dilemma, particularly for cancer detected at earlier stages as many patients are cured by surgery alone. This results in very large clinical trials required to demonstrate a modest benefit from treatment. Using ctDNA MRD testing in early-stage breast cancer patients receiving standard treatment may help researchers identify groups that would benefit from additional therapy, leading to better outcomes.