Background: Despite being the gold standard for molecular profiling and cancer diagnosis, traditional tissue biopsy has drawbacks such as invasiveness, procedural hazards, and difficulties capturing tumor heterogeneity. A minimally invasive method for thorough tumor profiling, liquid biopsy is based on the examination of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and other indicators in blood or bodily fluids. Clinical use has accelerated due to regulatory approvals of ctDNA-based tests including FoundationOne Liquid CDx and Guardant360 CDx, and ongoing trials are investigating its potential for minimal residual disease (MRD) surveillance and early identification.
Goswami et al. (Tue,) studied this question.