Article history: Received 6 July 2016 Accepted 6 July 2016 Available online 8 July 2016 Besides the demand for higher sensitivity, the specificity of cfDNA measurements faces even more serious challenges. Cancer-associated mutations are thought to be restricted to cancer patients. However, Fernandez-Cuesta et al. observed cfDNA TP53-mutated fragments in 11.4% of 123 matched non-cancer controls....

Severe sepsis can be a catastrophic condition that is often associated with poor outcomes. The early diagnosis and management of the condition are vital in order to improve the chances of survival. However, owing to the syndromal nature of its definition and the lack of a biomarker able to accurately confirm the condition, the diagnosis of sepsis is challenging. Even more challenging is the pre...

background: nowadays, highly specific aptamers generated by cell selex technology (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) are being applied for early detection of cancer cells. prostate specific membrane antigen (psma), over expressed in prostate cancer, is a highly specific marker and therefore can be used for diagnosis of the prostate cancer cells. the aim of the present s...

Researchers and clinicians are increasingly interested in using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) found in plasma (the cell-free fraction of anticoagulated blood) for biomarker discovery and diagnostic applications. Two areas of specific interest are non-invasive prenatal diagnostics (1-6) and monitoring efficacy of treatment in cancer patients (7-20). Many rece...