DNA markers help blood tests evaluate cancer treatment results

Cell death is a normal part of tissue regeneration.
In the process of cell death, cfDNA is shed from the tissue
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"Tumor tissue biopsy is an accidental or accidental process, which usually does not reflect the entire tumor or its spread very well," said Anton Wellstein, MD, a professor of oncology and pharmacology at Georgetown Lombardi University and this article.
Corresponding author of the article
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Scientists have noticed that short fragments of DNA and chemical modifications to these fragments, known as methyl groups, help tell researchers what cell type the respective DNA fragments come from, because these methylation patterns are unique to specific cell types Of
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“Fine-tuning these applications of cfDNA analysis is challenging and requires in-depth methods, both at the genome sequencing level and computationally,” explains Megan Barefoot, a PhD/PhD in the Wellstein Laboratory at the Cancer Center Sheng is also the main author of this article
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For example, the final results of these analyses can help researchers determine the tissue source of cancer, and also allow researchers to see the source of damage when comparing damaged cells with healthy cells, especially if it is due to a certain type of treatment
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"This method can be applied to any treatment that affects tissue balance by causing tissue cell damage and death, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy
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Georgetown University (Georgetown University) filed a patent application on some of the aspects mentioned in the article, and Wellstein and Barefoot are the named inventors

This work was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health (T32 CA009686, F30 CA250307, ​​R01 CA23129 and P30 CA51008)

Journal Reference :

1. Megan E.