ctDNA detection or as it is more commonly known, the “Liquid Biopsy” method is a novel technique nowadays being extensively studied. It is a real-time, non-invasive biomarker that is capable of producing diagnosis as well as prognosis during and at the progression of Cancer. For years now, scientists have been working on the detection of ctDNA by using samples from Cancer patients. In this method, the major focus is on the DNA fragments shed into the blood stream by the tumours. The most excitable feature of this technique is its ability to detect Cancer way earlier than it is possible with a biopsy; this helps us with the awareness and knowledge before it can spread in the body.
Presently, the best method that exists is the biopsy, which is an invasive technique involving, the slicing a part of the tumour which is then sent to the lab for analysis. This procedure is both painful and inconvenient which is what has partially pushed scientists/researchers all over to look for a better method for the detection of Cancer.
The lead researcher of this project, Pedram Razavi, from Memorial Sloan Kettering centre states, “Our findings show that high-intensity circulating tumour DNA sequencing is possible
and may provide invaluable information for clinical decision-making, potentially without any need for tumour tissue samples.”The researchers used blood and tissue samples from 124 metastatic breast cancer, lung cancer, and advanced prostate cancer patients; and scanned them for 508 different gene mutations, going over the specific regions of the genome up to 60,000 times. These results were further combined with the samples from the patients’ white blood cells. This was carried out as to bring about higher sensitivity and deep sequencing. As a result, the scientists found 864 genetic changes across all three types of cancers in the tissue samples, and found 73 percent of those in the blood tests as well.
The researchers are now trying to put together a plan to carry out this test in a larger scale by gathering larger data from thousands of people, both diagnosed with Cancer and those without Cancer. The project is being backed by people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. This procedure is sure to bring a lot of good and a lot of hope in the future!
