New approaches for detecting cancer with circulating cell-free DNA

Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), released from normal and cancerous cells, is an exciting new biomarker. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) usually contains genetic changes that could be useful for detecting cancer. Various laboratories have reported impressive clinical data, with cancer detection sensitivities ranging from 50 to 70%, calculated at 90–95% specificities [1–3]. ctDNA has additional important applications, including prognosis,...