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Implementing circulating tumor DNA analysis in a clinical laboratory: A user manual.
Journal article

Implementing circulating tumor DNA analysis in a clinical laboratory: A user manual.

  • Koessler T Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Addeo A Department of Oncology, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Nouspikel T Service of Medical Genetics, Diagnostics Department, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: thierry.nouspikel@hcuge.ch.
  • 2019-02-25
Published in:
  • Advances in clinical chemistry. - 2019
Accreditation
Biomarker
Cancer
Circulating tumor DNA
Clonal heterogeneity
Liquid biopsy
Residual disease
Technical validation
Treatment response
ctDNA
Animals
Biomarkers, Tumor
Circulating Tumor DNA
Genomics
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
Humans
Liquid Biopsy
Neoplasms
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Sequence Analysis, DNA
English Liquid biopsy, the analysis of cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), is becoming one of the most promising tools in oncology. It has already shown its usefulness in selecting and modulating therapy via remote analysis of the tumor genome and holds important promises in cancer therapy and management, such as assessing the success of key therapeutic steps, monitoring residual disease, early detection of relapses, and establishing prognosis. Yet, ctDNA analysis is technically challenging and its implementation in the laboratory raises multiple strategic and practical issues. As for oncology clinics, integration of this novel test in well-established therapeutic protocols can also pose numerous questions. The current review is intended as a field guide for (1) diagnostic laboratories wishing to implement, validate and possibly accredit ctDNA testing and (2) clinical oncologists interested in integrating the various applications of liquid biopsies in their daily practice. We provide advice and practical recommendations based on our own experience with the technical validations of these methods and on a review of the current literature, with a focus toward gastro-intestinal, lung and breast cancers.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/116624
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