Fig. 3: Schematic representation of tumor-agnostic and tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis.
From: Use of ctDNA in early breast cancer: analytical validity and clinical potential
Schematic representation of tumor-agnostic and tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis. a ctDNA analysis involves centrifuging the blood sample to isolate plasma, followed by DNA extraction (DNA extraction not shown). b Advantages and disadvantages of tumor-agnostic and tumor-informed assays. c Tumor-agnostic assay utilizes a standardized test for each individual without requiring prior knowledge of the tumor’s genetic information. It is worth noting that different types of tests exist, but each platform performs the same analysis on patients. d Tumor-informed ctDNA analysis consists of two steps. First, the primary tumor is analyzed, usually through sequencing, to identify specific tumor alterations. Specific primers or probes are made for these mutations. The second step is to analyze the DNA from the plasma for the presence of tumor-specific mutations. Created with BioRender.com.
