liquid biopsy

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a non-invasive diagnostic technique that detects cancer-derived material — including circulating tumour DNA, circulating tumour cells, exosomes, and cell-free RNA — in blood or other body fluids, enabling tumour monitoring, detection of minimal residual disease, and assessment of treatment response without the need for surgical tissue biopsy; liquid biopsy exploits the fact that tumours shed fragments of DNA and cells into the bloodstream, where they can be captured and analysed using ultrasensitive sequencing technologies; clinical applications include the detection of early-stage cancers through multi-cancer early detection tests, identification of targetable mutations in patients whose solid tumour is difficult to biopsy, real-time monitoring of tumour evolution and emergence of resistance mutations during treatment, and detection of molecular residual disease after surgery to identify patients who require adjuvant therapy; liquid biopsy is particularly valuable in tumour types that shed high levels of circulating tumour DNA, including colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer