cfDNA (circulating free or cell-free DNA) contains lots of DNA from various sources like normal blood cells. But ctDNA (circulating tumor DNA) is specific for the cancer. So the best choice for cancer detection is ctDNA. Late stage cancers can be detected by both cfDNA and ctDNA but ctDNA is a better indicator of the cancer and increased levels of ctDNA has been shown to be an indicator of high tumor volumes.
So informative.
Thank you this professor.
How does cfDNA test compare to CtDNA for cancer detection? Can either detect later stage cancers?
cfDNA (circulating free or cell-free DNA) contains lots of DNA from various sources like normal blood cells. But ctDNA (circulating tumor DNA) is specific for the cancer. So the best choice for cancer detection is ctDNA. Late stage cancers can be detected by both cfDNA and ctDNA but ctDNA is a better indicator of the cancer and increased levels of ctDNA has been shown to be an indicator of high tumor volumes.