Circulating cell-free DNA mutation patterns in early and late stage colon and pancreatic cancer.

ABSTRACT: Cancer is a heterogeneous disease harboring diverse subclonal populations that can be discriminated by their DNA mutations. Environmental pressure selects subclones that ultimately drive disease progression and tumor relapse. Circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) can be used to approximate the mutational makeup of cancer lesions and can serve as a marker for monitoring disease progression at the molecular level without the need for invasively acquired samples from primary or metastatic lesions. This potential for molecular analysis makes ccfDNA attractive for the study of clonal evolution and for uncovering emerging therapeutic resistance or sensitivity. We assessed ccfDNA from colon and pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients using next generation sequencing of 56 cancer-associated genes at the t

SUBMITTER: Vietsch EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5726797 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature