Analysis of circulating tumor DNA: a new concept in clinical oncology

Abstract

In recent years ,scientific and technological oncologie advances had allowed the emergence of a new concept which tends to become a new model in medicine; personalized medicine, capable to analyze the genomic specificities of each individual, to better meet their needs.
Indeed, it is currently possible to detect and quantify in blood «liquid biopsy» without invasive act compared to tissue biopsy, several biomarkers as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumor cells and circulating micro-RNA, with three major potential applications:
early detection and diagnosis of cancers, estimation and quantitative monitoring of tumor burden; and the detection of mutations that may possibly be predictive of response or resistance to treatment.
In this article, we will focus on the role of circulating tumor DNA in the early diagnosis, therapeutic monitoring, prognosis and prediction of response to treatment in colorectal, non-small cell lung cancers (CRC, NSCLC) and breast cancer.