Liquid biopsy

A liquid biopsy, also known as fluid biopsy or fluid phase biopsy, is the sampling and analysis of non-solid biological tissue, primarily blood. Like traditional biopsy this type of technique is mainly used as a diagnostic and monitoring tool for diseases such as cancer, with the added benefit of being largely non-invasive. Therefore, it can also be done more frequently which can better track tumors and mutations over a duration of time. It may also be used to validate the efficiency of a cancer treatment drug by taking multiple liquid biopsy samples in the span of a few weeks. The technology may also prove beneficial for patients after treatment to monitor relapse. A liquid biopsy, also known as fluid biopsy or fluid phase biopsy, is the sampling and analysis of non-solid biological tissue, primarily blood. Like traditional biopsy this type of technique is mainly used as a diagnostic and monitoring tool for diseases such as cancer, with the added benefit of being largely non-invasive. Therefore, it can also be done more frequently which can better track tumors and mutations over a duration of time. It may also be used to validate the efficiency of a cancer treatment drug by taking multiple liquid biopsy samples in the span of a few weeks. The technology may also prove beneficial for patients after treatment to monitor relapse. Although a liquid biopsy of circulating tumor cells has been validated and approved by the FDA as a useful prognostic method for various types of cancer, its clinical implementation is not yet widespread.