Cell-Free DNA as a Diagnostic for Many Diseases
August 2, 2016 | Terry Sharrer
When cells die, either naturally or from disease, their protein and DNA debris ends up in circulating blood. Mass spectroscopy techniques can determine protein profiles of disease states; for DNA fragment, targeted whole-exome or whole-genome sequencing are used. The great benefit of these liquid biopsies is that they are non-invasive, other than drawing a drop of blood. Neither method (this piece only addresses DNA analysis) has proven diagnostically decisive so far, but evidence is building for liquid biopsy to replace tissue biopsy both for earlier discovery of disease and for monitoring post treatment conditions. MORE