Cell-free circulating tumor DNA in plasma/serum of non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the common type of lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death throughout the world. Most patients were diagnosed too late for curative treatment. So, it is necessary to develop a minimal invasive method to identify NSCLC at an early stage. In recent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tumor biology 2015-01, Vol.36 (1), p.7-19
Main Authors: Nie, Kun, Jia, Yujie, Zhang, Xuezhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cancer Research
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - blood
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA Methylation
DNA, Neoplasm - blood
DNA, Neoplasm - genetics
Humans
Loss of Heterozygosity
Lung cancer
Lung Neoplasms - blood
Lung Neoplasms - genetics
Microsatellite Instability
Mutation
Plasma
Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor - genetics
Review
Tumors
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Summary:Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the common type of lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death throughout the world. Most patients were diagnosed too late for curative treatment. So, it is necessary to develop a minimal invasive method to identify NSCLC at an early stage. In recent years, cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has attracted increasing attention as a potential tumor marker for its minimal invasive, convenient, and easily accepted properties. The amount of ctDNA in plasma or serum was significantly higher in NSCLC patients than that in healthy controls or patients with benign diseases. Furthermore, many studies have proved an association among tumor stage, tumor grade, lymph node involvement, the number of metastatic sites, tumor response, survival outcome, and the ctDNA levels. Many genetic changes, such as gene mutation, loss of heterozygosity, microsatellite instability, and gene methylation were also found in ctDNA in NSCLC patients. These findings demonstrated that the ctDNA could serve as a viable tool to monitor NSCLC and prompted us to find more sensitive and specific biomarkers for clinical practice, especially monitor these cases with at least one known gene abnormality. Here, we reviewed the evidence of ctDNA in NSCLC and consider possible future applications in patient management.
ISSN:1010-4283
1423-0380
DOI:10.1007/s13277-014-2758-3