Fig. 2: Correlation of ctDNA and CMC with response to treatment, PFS and OS.

a Violin plot illustrating the amount of ctDNA (copies/ml of plasma) at T0 in responders vs non-responders/early progressing patients (Mann–Whitney U test, p = 0.039). First and third quartile, together with the median (middle line) are indicated in the plot. Contingency table with corresponding Fisher’s exact test p value is indicated below the graph. R, responding; NR, not responding; EP, early progressing patients (PFS ≤ 6 months). Kaplan–Meier plots of (b) OS according to BRAF-mutant ctDNA clearance at the first observational point after treatment start (range 2–6 months); (c) PFS and (d) OS according to baseline pTERT-mutant ctDNA amount; (e) PFS and (f) OS according to CMC count at baseline. The violin plot was performed using GraphPad version 8.0 for Windows (GraphPad Software Inc., San Diego, CA, USA).