The Open Prostate Cancer Journal
2010, 3 : 57-62Published online 2010 June 2. DOI: 10.2174/1876822901003010057
Publisher ID: TOPCANJ-3-57
Cell-Free DNA: A Novel Biomarker for Patients with Prostate Cancer?
Klinik und Poliklinik fur Urologie, Universitatsklinikum Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany.
ABSTRACT
The presence of small amounts of circulating DNA in plasma was demonstrated 60 years ago. Since then, cell-free DNA has been tested for quantity, fragmentation pattern and tumor-specific sequences in patients with various malignancies. The introduction of improved detection methods showed that all these alterations are regularly detectable in many cancer patients and the investigation of cell-free DNA may provide useful diagnostic and prognostic information. Herein, we review the recent findings on cell-free DNA alterations in patients with prostate cancer and discuss its diagnostic and prognostic potential.