Liquid Biopsy Testing

 What is liquid biopsy?

Liquid Biopsy refers to the analysis of blood by whole cancer cells (CTCs) or components of cells such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in order to characterize solid tumors. During the cancer lifecycle, DNA from our cancer cells break down and shed into the bloodstream, called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). From a simple blood draw, liquid biopsy testing can be performed to detect specific genetic variations in the ctDNA of a patient’s blood sample that may be causing the cancer to grow.

How does liquid biopsy play a role in cancer testing?

Liquid biopsy testing is a novel approach to genomic profiling and has shown to offer several advantages over tissue biopsy for select clinical scenarios. In the case of limited or insufficient tumor tissue or when a repeat biopsy is required for treatment monitoring, liquid biopsy may be a good option for patients largely because it is a minimally invasive procedure. Additionally, the location of the tumor may be difficult or even dangerous to contact for biopsy and testing of ctDNA by a blood draw might be a suitable alternative to traditional tissue biopsy. Lastly, liquid biopsy testing accounts for potential tumor evolution and heterogeneity since the ctDNA comes from cells anywhere in the body, whereas tissue biopsy is a sample taken from an isolated tumor.