Fig. 3

Tumor-informed cfDNA methylation scores at baseline are positively associated with disease burden and the presence of ctDNA. A Relationship between tumor area (expressed as cm²) and maxAF of mutations (left panel), timMRD score (middle panel), and MethylMean (right panel). The gray shadow denotes 95% confidence intervals. The colors of the dots indicate ctDNA status at baseline, wherein blue represents undetectable ctDNA mutations (n = 108), and red represents positive ctDNA status as samples with maxAF > 0 (n = 47). Spearman rank-order correlation test was performed to analyze the correlation between the molecular marker and tumor area. B-C Distribution of somatic mutations reflected as mutation positive rates (left), timMRD scores (middle), and MethylMean (right) according to pathological stages (B); and radiological features (C). Pairwise comparisons were performed using Fisher’s exact test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Statistical significance was defined as P-value < 0.05. D Relationship between timMRD score and tumor-informed somatic mutation status (maxAF) for 47 patients who were ctDNA-positive at baseline. The blue line denotes the best-fitting line. The gray shadow denotes 95% confidence intervals. Pearson correlation test was performed to analyze the correlation between the timMRD-score and maxAF of ctDNA mutations. E Comparison of the timMRD scores between patients with undetectable and detectable ctDNA mutations. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to compare the difference between groups. Statistical significance was defined as P-value < 0.05