Circulating tumour-derived predictive biomarkers in oncology

Molecular characterization of tumour material will become increasingly important in selecting patients for clinical trials and offering appropriate treatment for patients in clinical practice. Recent advances in the field have indicated that the molecular characteristics of a tumour can be determined from circulating tumour cells and circulating tumour DNA; thus, a simple blood sample could provide these data in a simple, convenient and efficient manner. This article discusses progress towards guiding treatment decisions through measuring tumour-derived factors in the circulation.