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Detection and Monitoring of Tumor Associated Circulating DNA in Patient Biofluids
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Detection and Monitoring of Tumor Associated Circulating DNA in Patient Biofluids

Published on: June 8, 2019

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Epigenomic technologies for deciphering circulating tumor DNA

Kristina Daniūnaitė1, Sonata Jarmalaitė2, Edita Kriukienė3

  • 1Department of Biological DNA Modification, Institute of Biotechnology, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio Av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania; Human Genome Research Group, Institute of Biosciences, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio Av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania.

Current Opinion in Biotechnology
|August 7, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Analyzing cell-free DNA (cfDNA) modifications in liquid biopsies offers a promising, noninvasive approach for cancer detection and monitoring. Epigenetic insights from cfDNA advance highly specific diagnostic tools for oncology.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in body fluids, originating from tumors, is a valuable source for noninvasive cancer detection and monitoring.
  • The unique DNA modification patterns, particularly 5-methylcytosine in CpG dinucleotides, are crucial for cellular identity and are often altered in cancer.
  • These epigenetic alterations in tumor-derived cfDNA present opportunities for novel diagnostic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent advancements in the analysis of cfDNA, focusing on epigenetic modifications.
  • To highlight the clinical utility of locus-specific and whole-genome cfDNA analysis.
  • To explore the potential of cfDNA epigenetic analysis for noninvasive cancer diagnostics.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent high-throughput analysis techniques for cfDNA.
  • Focus on locus-specific and whole-genome analysis of cfDNA.
  • Examination of epigenetic phenomena, specifically DNA methylation patterns.

Main Results:

  • Sophisticated techniques provide clinically relevant information from cfDNA.
  • Assessment of tumor-derived cfDNA modifications shows promise for diagnostic tests.
  • Epigenetic analysis of cfDNA is a rapidly advancing field with significant clinical potential.

Conclusions:

  • Epigenetic profiling of cfDNA is a powerful tool for noninvasive cancer detection and monitoring.
  • Advances in cfDNA analysis techniques are enabling highly specific diagnostic applications.
  • Further research into cfDNA epigenetic phenomena will likely yield improved cancer diagnostics.

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