Circulating tumor DNA – pro
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in peripheral blood is a “liquid biopsy” that contains representative tumor information including gene mutations. Additionally, repeated ctDNA samples can be easily obtained to monitor response to treatment and disease progression, which may be especially valuable to lung cancer patients with tumors that cannot be easily biopsied or removed. Most of the work thus far centered on non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma and colorectal cancer.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has updated the Guidelines for Clinical Practice Guidelines Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Version 1.2015. For metastatic disease: “The NCCN NSCLC Guidelines Panel strongly endorses broader molecular profiling with the goal of identifying rare driver mutations for which effective drugs may already be available, or to appropriately counsel patients regarding the availability of clinical trials. Broad molecular profiling is a key component of the improvement of care of patients with NSCLC.
Nannan Guo, Feng Lou, Yongfu Ma, Jie Li, Bo Yang, Wei Chen, Hua Ye, Jing-Bo Zhang, Ming-Yu Zhao, Wen-Jun Wu, Rong Shi, Lindsey Jones, Katherine S. Chen, Xue F. Huang, Si-Yi Chen & Yang Liu, Circulating tumor DNA detection in lung cancer patients before and after surgery
Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 33519 (2016)
Glenn Francis et al, Circulating Cell-Free Tumour DNA in the Management of Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Jun; 16(6): 1412214142.