[Usefulness of liquid biopsy technology in clinical practice of malignant lymphoma]

Information about genetic mutations that accumulate in each subtype of malignant lymphoma has been reported. Identification of mutations is predicted to become more crucial not only for a definitive diagnosis but also for selecting effective targeted therapies and analyzing detectable residual diseases. However, in the clinical environment of malignant lymphoma, DNA samples might be difficult to obtain, and longitudinal sample collection throughout disease development and/or remission is exceedingly difficult compared to leukemia sectors. Liquid biopsy is a new strategy of tumor biopsy that detects aberrant tumor-derived genes from a patient's plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, or other body fluids. With advances in genetic analysis methods, reports are accumulating on the usefulness of liquid biopsy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, central nerves system lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and other types of lymphoma. This method has the potential to significantly change the way of ML diagnosis and followed up in daily practice, and its development is a great deal of attention.