Blood Plasma Methylated DNA Markers in the Detection of Lymphoma: Discovery, Validation, and Clinical Pilot

Lymphoma is one of the leading causes of cancer and cancer deaths and yet has not been amenable to population screening. The role of methylated DNA markers (MDMs) in the detection of lymphoma has not been extensively studied. We aimed to discover, validate, and test tissue–derived MDMs of lymphoma in archival plasma specimens. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) was performed on a discovery set of frozen tissues. MDMs identified were converted to methylation–specific PCR assays and validated on independent formalin–fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Target enrichment long–probe quantitative-amplified signal (TELQAS) assays were developed and assayed in plasma–extracted, bisulfite-converted DNA from independent treatment-naïve lymphoma patients and healthy controls. Prediction of cancer status was modeled using random forest model with in silico cross-validation. After discovery and validation in tissue, 16 TELQAS assays (ZNF503, VWA5B1, HOXA9, GABRG3, ITGA5, MAX.chr17.7190, BNC1, CDK20, MAX.chr4.4069, TPBG, DNAH14, SYT6, CACNG8, FAM110B, ADRA1D, and NRN1) were selected for testing in plasma. These detected 78% (95% CI, 74%–82%) of lymphoma cases at 90% specificity. Excluding marginal zone and T-cell lymphomas, sensitivity increased to 84% (80%–88%). MDMs in plasma show promise to detect lymphoma and are candidates for inclusion in multi-cancer detection studies.