Learn more basics about Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) Extraction.
Status of cfDNA and ctDNA research
New liquid biopsy testing technology utilizing cfDNA as circulating biomarkers has been applied in clinical medicine with multiple FDA approved test on market, for example, detection of epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations with ctDNA in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been approved as a companion diagnostic for EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs).
Despite burgeoning research and clinical application development activities using cfDNA, the origin of ctDNA has not yet been precisely established. A recent report demonstrated bimodal peaks of long fragment circulating cfDNA of 5 kb and short fragment cfDNA of 170 bp in patients with advanced lung cancer, and both contained ctDNA.
It is also reported that selecting cfDNA fragments between 90-150 bp improved detection of tumor DNA. Analysis of size-selected cfDNA identified clinically actionable mutations and copy number alternations that were otherwise not detected.
cfDNA extraction workflow
cfDNA is an extremely difficult sample type to work with because cfDNA is often limited in yield and highly fragmented. This is where MagVigen (Cat #K61003) comes into play. It can produce higher yield and higher quality NGS library (vs. Qiagen Kit).
Figure 1. cfDNA extraction workflow.
Please check cfDNA basics for the steps explanation and refer to the K61003 Product Sheet for further detailed steps.