The Use of Liquid Biopsy in the Molecular Analysis of Plasma Compared to the Tumour Tissue from a Patient with Brain Metastasis: A Case Report

Abstract

Different cancers have multiple genetic mutations, which vary depending on the affected tumour tissue. Small biopsies may not always represent all the genetic landscape of the tumour. To improve the chances of identifying mutations at different disease stages (early, during the disease course, and refractory stage), liquid biopsies offer an advantage to traditional tissue biopsy. In addition, it is possible to detect mutations related to metastatic events depending on the cancer types analysed as will be discussed in this case report, which describes a patient with brain metastasis and lung cancer that harboured K-RAS mutations both in the brain tumour and in the ctDNA present in the bloodstream.

Keywords

• brain metastases
• lung hepatoid adenocarcinoma
• <i>K-RAS</i>
• liquid biopsy
• ddPCR