Surveillance With PET/CT and Liquid Biopsies of Stage I-III Lung Cancer Patients After Completion of Definitive Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial (SUPER)

Abstract

Despite increased focus on prevention as well as improved treatment possibilities, lung cancer remains among the most frequent and deadliest cancer diagnoses worldwide. Even lung cancer patients treated with curative intent have a high risk of relapse, leading to a dismal prognosis. More knowledge on the efficacy of surveillance with both current and new technologies as well as on the impact on patient treatment, quality of life, and survival are urgently needed. We therefore designed a randomized phase 3 trial. In one arm, every other computed tomography (CT) scan is replaced by positron emission tomography/CT, the other arm is the standard follow-up scheme with CT. The standard arm is identical to the current national Danish follow-up program. The primary endpoint is to compare the number of relapses treatable with curative intent in the 2 arms. We aim to include 750 patients over a 3-year period. Additionally, we will test the feasibility of noninvasive lung cancer diagnostics and surveillance in the form of circulating tumor DNA analysis. For this purpose, blood samples are collected before treatment and at each following control. The blood samples are stored in a biobank for later analysis and will not be used for guiding patient treatment decisions.

Use of [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography after Curative Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients: A Nationwide Cohort Study

“…From 2019 to 2021, a national randomized controlled trial recruited patients with NSCLC in Denmark to compare CT scans and [¹ 8 F]FDG PET/CT as a surveillance tool after curative treatment [11]. Because imaging use in patients enrolled in this trial is expected to differ from standard follow-up care after curative treatment, patient inclusion status in the trial was also considered in this analysis.…”