Assessment of pre-analytical sample handling conditions for comprehensive liquid biopsy analyses

Liquid biopsies as minimally invasive approach have the potential to revolutionize molecular diagnostics. Yet while protocols for sample handling and the isolation of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) are numerous, comprehensive guidelines for diagnostics and research considering all aspects of real-life multi-center clinical studies are currently not available. These include limitations in sample volume, transport, and blood collection tubes.Our study aimed at testing the impact of commonly used (EDTA, heparin) and specialized blood collection tubes and storage conditions on the yield and purity of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for the application in down-stream analysis.

Source: Journal of Molecular Diagnostics - May 31, 2020 Category: Pathology Authors: Teresa Gerber, Sabine Taschner-Mandl, Lisa Saloberger-Sindh öringer, Niko Popitsch, Ellen Heitzer, Volker Witt, René Geyeregger, Caroline Hutter, Raphaela Schwentner, Inge M. Ambros, Peter F. Ambros Tags: Regular Article Source Type: research