While the clinical use of analytical tests to assess genomic variants in circulating tumor DNA is increasing, there is insufficient evidence of clinical utility and validity for the majority of ctDNA assays in advanced cancer. Recently, representatives from the CAP and the American Society of Clinical Oncology analyzed the current literature on this diagnostic method also known as liquid biopsy. These findings were published in a recent issue of the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (https://capatholo.gy/2oMWMD8).

In this CAPcast, one of the CAP members on the panel, Dr. Neal Lindeman, discusses the outcome of the review and what pathologists need to know about the findings. Dr. Lindeman is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.