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LIQUID BIOPSIES

Closing in on cfDNA-based detection and diagnosis

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 20, page 481 (2020)Cite this article

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It has been appreciated for some time that analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in bodily fluids such as plasma (so-called liquid biopsies) might provide a non-invasive way to detect and diagnose cancers earlier and more accurately without the need for invasive and/or costly procedures, such as biopsies and imaging. However, moving this possibility from theory to reality has been hampered by several factors, such as the small amount of cfDNA released by some tumours (especially early-stage tumours) and challenges in distinguishing tumour-specific cfDNA from cfDNA that arises from normal cells.

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Original articles

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Related article

  • Shen, S. Y. et al. Sensitive tumour detection and classification using plasma cell-free DNA methylomes. Nature 563, 579–583 (2018)

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  1. Nature Reviews Cancer http://www.nature.com/nrc/

    Sarah Seton-Rogers

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  1. Sarah Seton-Rogers
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Correspondence to Sarah Seton-Rogers.

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Seton-Rogers, S. Closing in on cfDNA-based detection and diagnosis. Nat Rev Cancer 20, 481 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-020-0293-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-020-0293-7

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