Characterization of cell-free circulating DNA in plasma in patients with prostate cancer.

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.