Tumor DNA floating in our blood offers doctors a way to gain information about cancer even when standard needle-based biopsies aren’t an option. Over the past decade, scientists have refined their ability to get important tumor information from mutations in these DNA snippets. More recently, researchers have been exploring ways to go beyond the DNA sequences to learn about which genes are turned on and off in tumors. The genes identified using liquid biopsies can reveal more about a tumor’s subtype, and how it may progress or respond to treatment.
