Digital PCR and Effective Use of Liquid Biopsy in Cancer Diagnosis
By Behind The Bench Staff | 10.04.2022
The spotlight on liquid biopsy is getting brighter. Technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS) and digital PCR (dPCR) combined with the continual quest of cancer researchers like Dr. Atocha Romero are allowing us to determine potentially effective use of liquid biopsy in cancer diagnosis and management.
Atocha heads the Liquid Biopsy Laboratory (LBL) at Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro in Madrid, Spain. Her lab focuses on biomarker discovery and performs liquid-biopsy-based non-invasive biomarker testing for subjects with lung and other cancers.
Our Senior Marketing Manager, Dr. Deepak Tripathi, interviewed Atocha to learn about the challenges she faces in the field and how she attempts to solve them. Read the full interview here.
Learn more on how can biomarkers detection help in monitoring tumor pathogenesis in this on demand cancer webinar.
Driving genetic biomarker discovery for detecting and monitoring tumor pathogenesis
SPEAKER
- Dr. Archana Gupta
- Staff Scientist in the Genetic Sciences Division Thermo Fisher Scientific
ABSTRACT
Genetic biomarkers have become increasingly important for disease prediction, early disease detection and progression, and options for intervention. Tumor biopsies are commonly used as source for DNA- or RNA-based biomarker research. In addition, noninvasive or minimally invasive liquid biopsy collections of blood, saliva or urine are becoming increasingly adopted for biomarker evaluation due to easy sample collection, high sensitivity and fast turn-around-time for results. Genetic markers such as microRNA, mRNAs and/or DNA either cell-free or packaged in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and extracellular vesicles sourced from liquid biopsy provide the basis for biomarker research that contributes to precision medicine options for cancer. Several cancer types already have approved predictive biomarkers that enable selection of treatment candidates for immunotherapy, and this is only the beginning.
Interested to learn more about our Absolute Q Liquid Biopsy dPCR assays?
You can check the full catalog of our available assays here. This include most of the common biomarker alleles like EGFR T790M and C797S, and a whole lot more!
