Abstract
PURPOSE: Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a diagnostic and prognostic marker of melanoma. However, whether ctDNA mutations can independently predict survival remains controversial. This meta-analysis assessed the prognostic value of the presence or change in ctDNA mutations in melanoma patients. METHODS: We identified studies from the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases. We estimated the combined hazard ratios (HRs) for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using either fixed-effect or random-effect models based on heterogeneity. RESULTS: Sixteen studies including 1,781 patients were included. Both baseline and posttreatment detectable ctDNA were associated with poor OS (baseline detectable vs. undetectable, pooled HR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.64-2.36, P < 0.00001; baseline undetectable vs. detectable, pooled HR = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.11-0.36, P < 0.00001; posttreatment detectable vs. undetectable, pooled HR = 2.36, 95% CI = 1.30-4.28, P=0.005). For PFS, baseline detectable ctDNA may be associated with adverse PFS (baseline detectable vs. undetectable, pooled HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 0.84-2.37, P=0.19; baseline undetectable vs. detectable, pooled HR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.19-0.95, P=0.04) and baseline high ctDNA and increased ctDNA were significantly associated with adverse PFS (baseline high vs. low/undetectable, pooled HR = 3.29, 95% CI = 1.73-6.25, P=0.0003; increase vs. decrease, pooled HR = 4.48, 95% CI = 2.45-8.17, P < 0.00001). The baseline BRAF(V600) ctDNA mutation-positive group was significantly associated with adverse OS compared with the baseline ctDNA-negative group (pooled HR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.58-2.29, P < 0.00001). There were no significant differences in PFS between the baseline BRAF(V600) ctDNA mutation-detectable group and the undetectable group (pooled HR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.72-1.44, P=0.92). CONCLUSION: The presence or elevation of ctDNA mutation or BRAF(V600) ctDNA mutation was significantly associated with worse prognosis in melanoma patients.