Using Circulating Tumor DNA in Colorectal Cancer: Current and Evolving Practices

There exists a tremendous opportunity in identifying and determining the appropriate predictive and prognostic biomarker(s) for risk stratification of patients with colorectal cancers (CRCs). Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a promising prognostic and possibly predictive biomarker in the personalized management of patients with CRCs. The disease is particularly suited to a liquid biopsy-based approach since there is a great deal of shedding of circulating tumor fragments (cells, DNA, methylation markers, etc). ctDNA has been shown to have several potential applications, including detecting minimal residual disease (MRD), monitoring for early recurrence, molecular profiling, and therapeutic response…