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Role of Circulating Cell-Free DNA in Cancers

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Abstract

Liquid biopsy is a term used to describe non-invasive tests, which provide information about disease conditions through analysis of circulating cell-free DNA and circulating tumor cells from peripheral blood samples. In patients with cancer, the concentration of cell-free DNA increases, and structural, sequence, and epigenetic changes to DNA can be observed through the disease process and during therapy. Furthermore, cell-free DNA released by the tumor contains the same variants as those in the tumor cells. Therefore, cell-free DNA allows non-invasive assessment of cancer in real time. This review summarizes the origin of cell-free DNA, recent advancements in the detection of cell-free DNA, a possible role in metastasis, and its importance as a non-invasive diagnostic assay for cancer.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, 600036, India

      Raghu Aarthy, Samson Mani & Thangarajan Rajkumar

    2. Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, India

      Sridevi Velusami

    3. Department of Onco-pathology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, India

      Shirley Sundarsingh

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    1. Raghu Aarthy
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    2. Samson Mani
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    3. Sridevi Velusami
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    4. Shirley Sundarsingh
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    5. Thangarajan Rajkumar
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    Correspondence to Thangarajan Rajkumar.

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    The authors, Raghu Aarthy, Samson Mani, Sridevi Velusami, Shirley Sundarsingh, and Thangarajan Rajkumar, have no conflicts of interest to declare. This review was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India [No. SR/S9/Z-08/2010 dated 25.06.2010].

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    R. Aarthy and S. Mani have contributed equally.

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    Aarthy, R., Mani, S., Velusami, S. et al. Role of Circulating Cell-Free DNA in Cancers. Mol Diagn Ther 19, 339–350 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-015-0167-y

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