How is it different from traditional biopsy?
In a traditional biopsy a tissue from specific organ is needed for diagnosis of a cancer. It requires invasive method to get this tissue which is a painful procedure. It takes time to arrange for biopsy and needs further time for pathological evaluation. In total turnaround time for complete diagnosis takes around 2 weeks. With liquid biopsy it can be decreased to nearly a week.
How does it help in the treatment of cancer?
Liquid biopsy is intended to help in diagnosing and planning cancer treatment. In fact, it can also help in identifying the treatment resistance mechanisms. As of now liquid biopsy isn’t always reliable to diagnose a cancer, traditional biopsy is required
Where is it approved?
Till date only 5 different types of liquid biopsies are approved by US FDA. These biopsies are either used in the diagnosis, planning treatment and monitoring resistance mechanisms in cancers. Most important and significant test among these are the mutation testing and resistance mechanism testing of EGFR in Lung cancer
Does it help in monitoring treatment response?
Yes, liquid biopsy can help in monitoring treatment responses of cancers. However, it’s in the preliminary stages of research to use it clinically. Lot of research being done on the same and it can be available to use clinically in the near future.
Does liquid biopsy help in the screening of cancer?
Research is being done to screen the cancers using liquid biopsy but so far none of the tests are approved to screen for the cancers
