DNA that is shed by dead tumor cells into the blood, termed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), is a rich resource that could potentially be used for cancer diagnostics and monitoring. A new study describes a sequencing-based method that improves upon the sensitivity and specificity achieved by past techniques for detecting ctDNA and that can be used for monitoring of disease burden in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (pages 548–554).
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P.T.S. and J.W.G. have received royalties on intellectual property licensed to Cepheid, and J.W.G. is a consultant for and research grantee of Cepheid.
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Spellman, P., Gray, J. Detecting cancer by monitoring circulating tumor DNA. Nat Med 20, 474–475 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3564
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3564
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