Genetic profiling of tumours using both circulating free DNA and circulating tumour cells isolated from the same preserved whole blood sample

Rothwell, D. G. et al. (2016) Genetic profiling of tumours using both circulating free DNA and circulating tumour cells isolated from the same preserved whole blood sample. Molecular Oncology, 10(4), pp. 566-574. (doi: 10.1016/j.molonc.2015.11.006) (PMID:26639657) (PMCID:PMC4834815)

Abstract

Molecular information obtained from cancer patients' blood is an emerging and powerful research tool with immense potential as a companion diagnostic for patient stratification and monitoring. Blood, which can be sampled routinely, provides a means of inferring the current genetic status of patients' tumours via analysis of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) or circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA). However, accurate assessment of both CTCs and ctDNA requires all blood cells to be maintained intact until samples are processed. This dictates for ctDNA analysis EDTA blood samples must be processed with 4 h of draw, severely limiting the use of ctDNA in multi‐site trials. Here we describe a blood collection protocol that is amenable for analysis of both CTCs and ctDNA up to four days after blood collection. We demonstrate that yields of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) obtained from whole blood CellSave samples are equivalent to those obtained from conventional EDTA plasma processed within 4 h of blood draw. Targeted and genome‐wide NGS revealed comparable DNA quality and resultant sequence information from cfDNA within CellSave and EDTA samples. We also demonstrate that CTCs and ctDNA can be isolated from the same patient blood sample, and give the same patterns of CNA enabling direct analysis of the genetic status of patients' tumours. In summary, our results demonstrate the utility of a simple approach that enabling robust molecular analysis of CTCs and cfDNA for genotype‐directed therapies in multi‐site clinical trials and represent a significant methodological improvement for clinical benefit.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by core funding to CR-UK Manchester Institute (C5759/A12328), and via Manchester CR-UK Centre Award (A12197) and with additional funding from CANCER-ID (115749) and Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Miller, Professor Crispin
• Authors: Rothwell, D. G., Smith, N., Morris, D., Leong, H. S., Li, Y., Hollebecque, A., Ayub, M., Carter, L., Antonello, J., Franklin, L., Miller, C., Blackhall, F., Dive, C., and Brady, G.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
• Journal Name: Molecular Oncology
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1574-7891
• ISSN (Online): 1878-0261
• Published Online: 19 November 2015
• Copyright Holders: Copyright 2015 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Molecular Oncology 10:566-574
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence