The Impact of Liquid Biopsy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer Care.

INTRODUCTION: Ovarian cancer is the third most common gynaecological cancer and has a very high mortality rate. The cornerstone of treatment is complete debulking surgery plus chemotherapy. Even with treatment, 80% of patients have a recurrence. Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has been shown to be useful in the control and follow-up of some tumours. It could be an option to define complete cytoreduction and for the early diagnosis of recurrence. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to demonstrate the usefulness of ctDNA and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a marker of complete cytoreduction and during follow-up in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We selected 22 women diagnosed with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer, of which only 4 had complete records. We detected cfDNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), presented as ng/mL, and detected ctDNA with droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients to evaluate correlations among cfDNA, ctDNA, and cancer antigen 125 (CA125), a biomarker. RESULTS: The results obtained in the evaluation of cfDNA and ctDNA and their correlation with tumour markers and the radiology of patients with complete follow-up show disease progression during the disease, stable disease, or signs of recurrence. cfDNA and ctDNA correlated significantly with CA125. Following cfDNA and ctDNA over time indicated a recurrence several months earlier than computed tomography and CA125 changes. CONCLUSION: An analysis of cfDNA and ctDNA offers a non-invasive clinical tool for monitoring the primary tumour to establish a complete cytoreduction and to diagnose recurrence early.

Monitoring the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 on a Spanish university campus through wastewater analysis: A pilot project for the reopening strategy.

Wastewater surveillance is a fast and cost-effective tool that enables tracing of both symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In this paper, a pilot program carried out at the University Jaume I for monitoring the trends of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such project conducted on a university campus in Spain. Wastewater samples (n = 838) were collected when students returned to campus, from October 2020 until August 2021, at a confluence sewer point and at the building level including different academic departments and services, the library, administration offices and the university student residence. It has been observed that the probability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater depended on COVID-19 incidence on campus and visitors/occupants of the buildings i.e., high-, or low-traffic buildings with high or low frequency of potential contacts. Moreover, the third wave in Spain (after Christmas 2020) and an outbreak that occurred at the university student's residence could be carefully followed, allowing confirmation of the end of the outbreak. In addition, viral variants (i.e., mutations and linages) from selected time points were detected by sequencing and gave an indication of the evolution of the virus over time. The results illustrate the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology to provide an early warning for SARS-CoV-2 within the university, especially in buildings with low traffic and more defined populations, like the student residence. The strategy and experience gathered in this study will allow for implementation of improvements for reliable monitoring in the future.

Making Waves: Collaboration in the time of SARS-CoV-2 - rapid development of an international co-operation and wastewater surveillance database to support public health decision-making.

The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater was first reported in March 2020. Over the subsequent months, the potential for wastewater surveillance to contribute to COVID-19 mitigation programmes has been the focus of intense national and international research activities, gaining the attention of policy makers and the public. As a new application of an established methodology, focused collaboration between public health practitioners and wastewater researchers is essential to developing a common understanding on how, when and where the outputs of this non-invasive community-level approach can deliver actionable outcomes for public health authorities. Within this context, the NORMAN SCORE "SARS-CoV-2 in sewage" database provides a platform for rapid, open access data sharing, validated by the uploading of 276 data sets from nine countries to-date. Through offering direct access to underpinning meta-data sets (and describing its use in data interpretation), the NORMAN SCORE database is a resource for the development of recommendations on minimum data requirements for wastewater pathogen surveillance. It is also a tool to engage public health practitioners in discussions on use of the approach, providing an opportunity to build mutual understanding of the demand and supply for data and facilitate the translation of this promising research application into public health practice.