Cell-free circulating DNA in plasma and serum may serve as a biomarker for malignant tumor detection and follow up in patients with a variety of solid tumors including prostate cancer.
In healthy patients, DNA is normally released from an apoptotic source which generates small fragments of cell-free DNA, whereas cancer patients have cell-free circulating DNA that originated from necrosis, autophagy, or mitotic catastrophe. Cell-free circulating DNA levels were measured by a quantitative real-time PCR method with a set of primers targeted to amplify the consensus ALU apoptotic versus necrotic origin. Prostate cancer patients before and 3 months after diagnosis showed cell-free circulating DNA released at apoptotic and non-apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, all patients after 6 months demonstrated DNA released at non-apoptotic cell. The principal source of cell-free circulating DNA is of apoptotic and non-apoptotic cell death. However, during treatment, this feature could change. Therefore, the study of cell-free circulating DNA would be important to follow the evolution of the disease during the treatment.
Written by:
Delgado PO, Alves BC, de Sousa Gehrke F, Kuniyoshi RK, Wroclavski ML, Del Giglio A, Fonseca FL. Are you the author?
Oncology/Hematology Discipline, FMABC, Santo André, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Reference: Tumour Biol. 2012 Dec 27. (Epub ahead of print)
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23269609
