Liquid biopsy is becoming an increasingly important diagnostic technique for cancers.
Liquid biopsy is based on the fact that cells in the body release DNA into the bloodstream and bodily fluids, a form known as cell-free DNA (cfDNA). In other words, DNA from cancer cells is released into the patients’ bloodstream, containing mutations specific to cancer. The cfDNA is sequenced, revealing the genetic alterations present in the tumour.
The more intact – less fragmented – cell-free DNA is, the more it is associated with a poor prognosis for breast cancer.
“We have access to CSC’s resources specifically for machine learning purposes. So far, we have developed cancer risk analytics, but the same models are utilised in the further work with these liquid biopsy results. This data has not been further processed yet,” says professor Arto Mannermaa from the University of Eastern Finland.
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ELIXIR is partly funded by the European Commission