Blood test for genetic changes in tumors shows promise as alternative to tumor biopsy

June 15, 2016 - In the largest study of its kind to date, a test that assesses DNA mutations and other changes in genetic material shed from tumors into the blood—a so-called liquid biopsy—produced results highly similar to those of traditional tumor biopsies.

The patterns of genomic changes identified by the test in a large collection of patient blood samples largely matched patterns of genetic changes seen in large tumor biopsy profiling studies, researchers reported last weekExit Disclaimer at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. Read more here.