Analysis of DNA tags could advance the understanding and treatment of many cancers
Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) shed into the blood was discovered in the late 1940s but with rapid advances in genomics and computational analytics in just the past few years, researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center now believe that studying tags, or modifications to this type of DNA, may lead to a better understanding of how to assess, and possibly modulate, treatment approaches for cancer and other diseases. Their perspective, drawn from a review of studies to date, appears July 27 in
Frontiers in Genetics.
During cell death, which is a normal part of tissue regeneration, cfDNA is shed from tissue. The shed cfDNA can be isolated from a blood sample, thus providing a reading of cell death across the body in both normal and cancer cells without the need for taking invasive biopsy samples.

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Emily Henderson , Anton Wellstein , Georgetown University , Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center , Cancer Center , Georgetown Lombardi , Megan Barefoot , எமிலி ஹென்டர்சன் , ஜார்ஜ்டவுன் பல்கலைக்கழகம் , ஜார்ஜ்டவுன் லோம்பார்டி விரிவான புற்றுநோய் மையம் , புற்றுநோய் மையம் , ஜார்ஜ்டவுன் லோம்பார்டி ,