Clinical applications and challenges of circulating tumor DNA analysis / 中华检验医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has shown great potential in targeted therapy efficacy prediction, monitoring, high-risk population screening, differential diagnosis, minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring, and prognosis prediction. The detection of specific gene mutations in ctDNA had been included in clinical practice guidelines for certain tumors to predict the drug efficacy and monitor resistance. A small number of approved companion diagnostic reagents have been used in clinical setting. However, the clinical validity of most ctDNA-related biomarkers it still in the research stage. Besides, the establishment and validation of laboratory-developed tests (LDT) are also problems that need to be solved urgently. Therefore, for the moment, the clinical application of ctDNA analysis is like two sides of a coin, with both opportunities and challenges.