ctDNA-Guided Intraventricular Therapy for CNS Malignancies

Leptomeningeal disease (LMD) and other advanced CNS malignancies remain associated with poor prognosis and limited tools for monitoring disease activity and treatment response. Conventional CSF cytology has limited sensitivity, particularly in the early stages of disease. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis of cerebrospinal fluid has emerged as a promising liquid biopsy approach for detecting molecular evidence of CNS disease and monitoring treatment response. This prospective, single-center investigator-initiated study will evaluate the clinical utility of the Belay Summit CSF ctDNA assay in patients with malignant gliomas or brain metastases from NSCLC or breast cancer undergoing clinically indicated CSF evaluation. Patients may be enrolled either before or after clinically indicated lumbar puncture, provided eligibility criteria are met. Clinical management, including consideration of Ommaya reservoir placement, intraventricular therapy, systemic therapy modification, radiation therapy, or other CNS-directed interventions, will remain at the discretion of the treating multidisciplinary neuro-oncology team. The study does not mandate treatment assignment based on ctDNA results.