Tumor Cells Shedding their DNA Fingerprints

August 5, 2014 | Circulating tumor DNA--released into the blood when a tumor cell dies--has the potential to tell us far more about the various mutations in cancers than just tissue biopsies. Because tumors have proven to be so overwhelmingly heterogeneous, tumor DNA in the blood may give us a much bigger picture of a tumor's mutations than any point biopsy. It could help personalize treatments, but there are still technical challenges. Nature News