The potential of circulating tumor DNA methylation analysis for the early detection and management of ovarian cancer

Genome Med.
December 22, 2017

Authors: Widschwendter M, Zikan M, Wahl B, et al. 

Journal: Genome Med. 2017 Dec 22;9(1):116. doi: 10.1186/s13073-017-0500-7.

Intro: Genedata scientists and colleagues in the EpiFemCare consortium discovered that DNA methylation patterns in cell-free DNA have the potential to detect a proportion of ovarian cancers up to two years in advance of diagnosis and may potentially guide personalized treatment.

Abstract: Despite a myriad of attempts in the last three decades to diagnose ovarian cancer (OC) earlier, this clinical aim still remains a significant challenge. Aberrant methylation patterns of linked CpGs analyzed in DNA fragments shed by cancers into the bloodstream (i.e. cell-free DNA) can provide highly specific signals indicating cancer presence ... Data suggest that DNA methylation patterns in cell-free DNA have the potential to detect a proportion of OCs up to two years in advance of diagnosis and may potentially guide personalized treatment. The prospective use of novel collection vials, which stabilize blood cells and reduce background DNA contamination in serum/plasma samples, will facilitate clinical implementation of liquid biopsy analyses.

Keywords: Cell-free DNA, DNA methylation, Serum DNA, Ovarian cancer, Early diagnosis, Screening, Personalized treatment