Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Genome-wide Purification of Extrachromosomal Circular DNA from Eukaryotic Cells
Published on: April 4, 2016
Extrachromosomal DNA in Oncology: History of Discovery, Research Methods, and Current Perspectives
Vera S Mukhina1, Alexander V Favorov2,3
1Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia. atgc@vigg.ru.
None:
Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) refers to circular DNA molecules without centromeres that are often found in the nuclei of cancer cells. The presence of ecDNA is associated with the development of drug resistance and poor disease prognosis. Although ecDNA was discovered 60 years ago, technological advances of the past decade have dramatically expanded our understanding of its biological significance and revealed a far greater role in cancer development than previously recognized, thus driving a rapid increase in research interest. This review describes the milestones in the history of ecDNA research and summarizes the current state of knowledge as of 2025. It provides a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms underlying ecDNA formation, organization, and functions, describes the principal methods used for ecDNA detection and analysis, and discusses its clinical relevance, as well as future directions in ecDNA research.
Related Concept Videos
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Abnormal Proliferation
