Diagnosis and monitoring of virus-associated cancer using cell-free DNA

Authors

Larissa Ls Scholte, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States.
Jeffrey M. Bethony, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States.
Rena R. Xian, Department of Pathology and Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States. Electronic address: rxian1@jhmi.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

5-13-2023

Journal

Current opinion in virology

Volume

60

DOI

10.1016/j.coviro.2023.101331

Abstract

Viral-associated cancers are a distinct group of malignancies with a unique pathogenesis and epidemiology. Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive way to identify tumor-associated abnormalities in blood derivatives, such as plasma, to guide the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of patients with cancer. Liquid biopsy encompasses a multitude of circulating analytes with the most extensively studied being cell-free DNA (cfDNA). In recent decades, substantial advances have been made toward the study of circulating tumor DNA in nonviral-associated cancers. Many of these observations have been translated to the clinic to improve the outcomes of patients with cancer. The study of cfDNA in viral-associated cancers is rapidly evolving and reveals tremendous potential for clinical applications. This review provides an overview of the pathogenesis of viral-associated malignancies, the current state of cfDNA analysis in oncology, the current state of cfDNA analysis in viral-associated cancers, and perspectives for the future of liquid biopsies in viral-associated cancers.

APA Citation

Scholte, Larissa Ls; Bethony, Jeffrey M.; and Xian, Rena R., "Diagnosis and monitoring of virus-associated cancer using cell-free DNA" (2023). GW Authored Works. Paper 2910.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/2910

Department

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine