ESMO WCGIC 2021 | VALENTINO: VAF as prognostic marker in mCRC

Paolo Manca, MD, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori Milano, Milano, Italy discusses the update results from the VALENTINO trial; a Phase II randomized trial comparing induction chemotherapy + panitumumab with induction chemotherapy + panitumumab + 5-FU in RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) (NCT02476045); variant allelic fraction (VAF) from liquid biopsy was used to measure disease burden. The secondary endpoint was met; VAF was found to be a good prognostic marker, it was more effective than carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and RECIST defined target lesions in the prognosis stratification of patients. More research must be done to determine if VAF is an effective marker of disease response to chemotherapy. Furthermore, liquid biopsy facilitated the identification of RAS mutations in patient ctDNA, this strategy may be used to identify appropriate patients for anti-EGFR therapy. This interview took place at the ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2021.