Cell-free DNA for the detection of pancreatic, liver and upper gastrointestinal cancers: has progress been made?. (December 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gall, Tamara MH; Frampton, Adam E; Krell, Jonathan; Habib, Nagy A; Castellano, Leandro; Stebbing, Justin; Jiao, Long R
• Is Part Of: Future oncology. Volume 9:Number 12(2013)
• Page Start: 1861
• Page End: 1869
• Publication Date: 2013-12
• Subjects: cell-free DNA -- esophageal cancer -- gastrointestinal cancer -- hepatocellular carcinoma -- pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; Oncology -- Periodicals; 616.99405
• DOI: 10.2217/fon.13.152
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1479-6694

Abstract

Detecting alterations in blood cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is hoped to be a novel, noninvasive method for diagnosing, prognosing and monitoring cancer patients. Several studies have assessed the usefulness of measuring tumor-specific genetic and epigenetic changes of cfDNA, such as loss of heterozygosity, frequency of mutations, alterations of microsatellites and the methylation of genes in patient blood samples. However, few well-designed trials have been carried out to translate these findings effectively. In this review, we have assessed the clinical utility of cfDNA in pancreatic, liver and upper gastrointestinal malignancies.