The interplay of circulating tumor DNA and chromatin modification, therapeutic resistance, and metastasis

Lei Zhang†,
Yiyi Liang†,
Shifu Li†,
Fanyuan Zeng†,
Yongan Meng†,
Ziwei Chen,
Shuang Liu,
Yongguang TaoEmail author View ORCID ID profile and
Fenglei YuEmail author

†Contributed equally

Molecular Cancer201918:36

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-019-0989-z

Received: 5 November 2018
Accepted: 26 February 2019
Published: 9 March 2019

Abstract

Peripheral circulating free DNA (cfDNA) is DNA that is detected in plasma or serum fluid with a cell-free status. For cancer patients, cfDNA not only originates from apoptotic cells but also from necrotic tumor cells and disseminated tumor cells that have escaped into the blood during epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Additionally, cfDNA derived from tumors, also known as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), carries tumor-associated genetic and epigenetic changes in cancer patients, which makes ctDNA a potential biomarker for the early diagnosis of tumors, monitory and therapeutic evaluations, and prognostic assessments, among others, for various kinds of cancer. Moreover, analyses of cfDNA chromatin modifications can reflect the heterogeneity of tumors and have potential for predicting tumor drug resistance.