Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma is characterized by specific fragmentation and methylation changes with diagnostic value

Abstract

Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumour whose diagnosis includes evaluating calcitonin serum levels, which can present fluctuations unrelated to MTC. Here, we investigated circulating DNA fragmentation and methylation changes as potential biomarkers using ddPCR on cell-free DNA (cfDNA) isolated from the plasma of MTC patients. For cfDNA fragmentation analysis, we investigated the fragment size distribution of a gene family and calculated short fragment fraction (SFF). Methylation analyses evaluated the methylation levels of CG_16698623, a CG dinucleotide in the MGMT gene that we found hypermethylated in MTC tissues by analyzing public databases. The SFF ratio and methylation of CG_16698623 were significantly increased in plasma from MTC patients at diagnosis, and patients with clinical remission or stable disease at follow-up showed no significant SFF difference compared with healthy subjects. Our data support the diagnostic value of cfDNA traits that could enable better management of MTC patients.