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279 points bookofjoe | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
1. octaane ◴[] No.44609170[source]
I actually know a little about this through my work. Cell-free DNA (CfDNA) Has been known about for a few decades, but has become more of a focus in recent years because of the advent of immunotherapies, which are often highly targeted drugs. CfDNA has also been used in "liquid biopsies" i.e, a simple blood draw, because it can help you profile the tumor and location of the cancer.

In my field, we all think that CfDNA testing will eventually become a standard thing that will go along with your annual physical's blood test, because it has predictive/preventative abilities.

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2. drdrey ◴[] No.44609985[source]
how actionable is the result? let's say you do detect trace amounts of tumoral DNA in your blood, what can you do? can you prevent it from developing into a full-on tumor if you don't even know where it is?
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3. datameta ◴[] No.44611721[source]
I imagine the signature isn't simply binary but with several dimensions of differentiation?