Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 12, 2026

Detection and Monitoring of Tumor Associated Circulating DNA in Patient Biofluids
Published on: June 8, 2019
Circulating Tumor DNA in Cancer Management
Miao-Zhu Li1, Ian-Zhen Lin2, Hai-Tao Zhao2
1Center for Population Health and Aging,Duke University,NC 27705,US.
Abstract:
Molecular techniques can be very useful in detecting a patient's tumor to guide treatment decisions is increasingly been applied in the care and management of cancer patients. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) containing mutations can be identified in the plasma of cancer patients during the course of the disease. As a non-invasive "liquid biopsies",ctDNA is a potential surrogate for the entire tumor genome. The use of ctDNA might help to determine the disease prognosis,monitor disease progression,monitor the molecular resistance and monitor the tumor heterogeneity. Future developments will need to provide clinical standards to validate the ctDNA as a clinical biomarker and improve the reproducibility and accuracy,in order to be better exploited for personalized medicine.
Related Concept Videos
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
Tumor Immunotherapy
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...

