Research theme 02
Liquid Biopsy & ctDNA
Circulating tumour DNA, molecular profiling, longitudinal monitoring and the interpretation limits of plasma-based testing.
Stated area of interest Named by KPCIRC as an area of scientific interest. Not a claim of an active funded project.
Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) can offer a less invasive view of tumour-derived alterations and how they change over time. Plasma testing also has particular limits: low tumour fraction, clonal haematopoiesis and assay sensitivity can all shape what a result means. This theme focuses on reading ctDNA reports responsibly.
Questions of interest
- When does a negative plasma result leave the question unanswered?
- How can findings from clonal haematopoiesis be distinguished from tumour-derived variants in reports?
- What can serial ctDNA measurements reasonably show, and what can they not?
Approaches
- Assay-aware interpretation of plasma reports
- Longitudinal comparison of reported variants
- Documentation of tumour-fraction and sensitivity caveats
Connection to clinical services
Liquid-biopsy and ctDNA reports are among the report types POAS can consider, subject to assay details and the clinical question.
Limitations
- A plasma result that does not detect an alteration does not prove the alteration is absent from the tumour.
- Monitoring findings are not established clinical endpoints unless validated for that use.
Projects and outputs
No verified projects or publications are listed for this theme yet.