Circadian rhythm and circulating cell-free DNA release on healthy subjects.

In the last decade, clinical studies have investigated the clinical relevance of circulating cell-free-DNA (ccfDNA) as a diagnostic and prognosis tool in various diseases including cancers. However, limited knowledge on ccfDNA biology restrains its full development in the clinical practice. To improve our understanding, we evaluated the impact of the circadian rhythm on ccfDNA release in healthy subjects over a 24-h period.

Highly Specific Droplet-Digital PCR Detection of Universally Methylated Circulating Tumor DNA in Endometrial Carcinoma.

Background: No circulating biomarker is available for endometrial carcinoma (EC). We aimed to identify DNA positions universally hypermethylated in EC, and to develop a digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) assay for detection of hypermethylated circulating tumor DNA (meth-ctDNA) in plasma from patients with EC.

Methods: DNA positions hypermethylated in EC, and without unspecific hypermethylation in tissue/cell types releasing circulating cell-free DNA in plasma, were identified in silico from TCGA/Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data.

Circulating Ubiquitous RNA, A Highly Predictive and Prognostic Biomarker in Hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Patients.

Background: Approximately 15-30% of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients develop acute respiratory distress syndrome, systemic tissue injury, and/or multi-organ failure leading to death in around 45% of cases. There is a clear need for biomarkers that quantify tissue injury, predict clinical outcomes, and guide the clinical management of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Methods: We herein report the quantification by droplet-based digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNAemia and the plasmatic release of a ubiquitous human intracellular marker, the ribonuclease P (RNase P) in order to evaluate tissue injury and cell lysis in the plasma of 139 COVID-19 hospitalized patients at admission.

Circulating tumor DNA is a prognostic marker of tumor recurrence in stage II and III colorectal cancer: multicentric, prospective cohort study (ALGECOLS).

Background: In non-metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), we evaluated prospectively the pertinence of longitudinal detection and quantification of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a prognostic marker of recurrence.

Method: The presence of ctDNA was assessed from plasma collected before and after surgery for 184 patients classified as stage II or III and at each visit during 3-4 years of follow-up. The ctDNA analysis was performed by droplet-based digital polymerase chain reaction, targeting mutation and methylation markers, blindly from the clinical outcomes.

Characterization of Plasma Cell-Free DNA Integrity Using Droplet-Based Digital PCR: Toward the Development of Circulating Tumor DNA-Dedicated Assays.

Cellular-cell free-DNA (ccfDNA) is being explored as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for various diseases including cancer. Beyond the evaluation of the ccfDNA mutational status, its fragmentation has been investigated as a potential cancer biomarker in several studies. However, probably due to a lack of standardized procedures dedicated to preanalytical and analytical processing of plasma samples, contradictory results have been published.

Liquid Biopsy: General Concepts.

Liquid biopsy provides the opportunity of detecting, analyzing and monitoring cancer in various body effluents such as blood or urine instead of a fragment of cancer tissue. It is composed of different biological matrices such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell free nucleic acids, exosomes or tumors "educated platelets." In addition to representing a non- or minimally invasive procedure, it should represent a better view of tumor heterogeneity and allows for real-time monitoring of cancer evolution.