Liquid versus tissue biopsy for detecting acquired resistance and tumor heterogeneity in gastrointestinal cancers.

ABSTRACT: During cancer therapy, tumor heterogeneity can drive the evolution of multiple tumor subclones harboring unique resistance mechanisms in an individual patient^1-3. Previous case reports and small case series have suggested that liquid biopsy (specifically, cell-free DNA (cfDNA)) may better capture the heterogeneity of acquired resistance^4-8. However, the effectiveness of cfDNA versus standard single-lesion tumor biopsies has not been directly compared in larger-scale prospective cohorts of patients following progression on targeted therapy. Here, in a prospective cohort of 42 patients with molecularly defined gastrointestinal cancers and acquired resistance to targeted therapy, direct comparison of postprogression cfDNA versus tumor biopsy revealed that cfDNA more freq

SUBMITTER: Parikh AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6741444 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature