When Will Cone Health Cancer Center Recommend Liquid Biopsy?
- Doctors in the Raleigh-Durham area may use a blood test known as a liquid biopsy to help detect lung cancer tumor cells and DNA in blood.
- Liquid biopsies are non-invasive, quicker, and track cancer mutations, but they may be less sensitive than tissue biopsies.
- Your care team may also order one or more tissue biopsies to confirm cancer by examining tissue samples.
- Dr. Mohamed Mohamed of Cone Health Cancer Center advocates for using both biopsies together for comprehensive cancer analysis. Taken together, they can offer real-time, complete insights into cancer’s characteristics.
A liquid biopsy is a blood test that detects circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and fragments of tumor DNA, known as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), in your blood. This gives your doctors valuable information to help them decide on the best treatment options for you.
Read MoreMolecular Profiling's Role in Cancer Treatment
- Liquid Biopsy: What It Is And Why You Might Need One As a Cancer Patient
- A New Development in the Fight Against Lung Cancer: Explaining the Liquid Biopsy
- Molecular Profiling for Lung Cancer Patients: Who Should Get Tested and What is it Like?
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Molecular Testing for Lung Cancer
When is a liquid biopsy the best choice?
While a tissue biopsy can provide helpful information, there are several drawbacks, including:- It is an invasive procedure that can be painful and potentially harmful to the patient.
- It may be unsuccessful if the amount of cancer tissue collected is too small or the quality of the biopsy itself is poor.
- It may provide a limited picture of the cancer. Cancers are continuously mutating and evolving in different ways and in various locations. A biopsy at a single site or in a limited area can miss this.
Liquid biopsies counter these limitations because:
- They are non-invasive.
- They can detect cancer cells and their DNA mutations when there is not enough tumor for an accurate tissue biopsy.
- They collect pieces from cancer cells at multiple locations that interact with the bloodstream.
- They return results quicker than tissue biopsies. Results typically arrive within two weeks, compared to up to a month for tissue biopsies.
But despite their speed, liquid biopsies are less sensitive than tissue biopsies. They sometimes return false-negative results, meaning they can miss certain signs of cancer.
Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou explains when liquid biopsies are used.
Liquid & tissue biopsy can complement each other
Dr. Mohamed Mohamed, a thoracic medical oncologist at Cone Health Cancer Center in Greensboro, tells SurvivorNet that both biopsy collection methods have advantages. When used together they provide a more accurate picture of what is going on with your cancer.
“At Cone Health Cancer Center, we decided to do the complementary testing at the same time, meaning testing tissue and testing blood (liquid biopsy) to avoid any negative results that could be there,” Dr. Mohamed says.
The combination of liquid and tissue biopsy can improve the ability to diagnose, treat, and monitor your cancer. Together, they offer your care team more complete insights into the state of the disease in real time. When doctors understand the unique characteristics of your cancer better, they can get a better idea of which treatments will work and which won’t.
Questions to ask your doctor
If you’re facing a lung cancer diagnosis and are unsure if undergoing a liquid biopsy is necessary, consider asking your doctor or medical team the following questions:
- Am I a candidate for liquid biopsy?
- What sort of liquid biopsy would I be undergoing?
- What are the risks and limitations of the test?
- What can I do to prepare for the test?
- How might results affect my treatment plans?
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