Circulating Nucleic Acids In Plasma Or Serum

Circulating Nucleic Acids in Serum and Plasma – CNAPS IX

The book will present the progress made since the last meeting in fall 2013 concerning the analysis of circulating extra-cellular nucleic acids. There are a modest number of laboratories involved in this field, nevertheless the number of papers published by researchers is extensive. The articles which will be published in this meeting report will be a valuable contribution for researchers and research students alike and will help them to stay on top of the developments in different research areas and to „cross borders“ between them.

Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma Or Serum

Free DNA present in both healthy and diseased human plasma has been found to express specific point mutations that may serve as diagnostic signposts - perhaps to reliable, non-invasive tests for breast and lung cancer, haematopoetic malignancies, colorectal or pancreatic carcinoma, and other tumours. In another research area, foetal DNA has been detected in maternal serum which presents an early-horizon alternative in utero test for gender. A parallel discovery of rearranged immunoglobin heavy-chain DNA in the plasma of patients wit Hodgkin's disease or acute B cell leukaemia has also emerged. These fast-emerging indicators suggest that it is time to standardize research techniques and develop protocols that can take a measure of circulating DNA's usefulness as a diagnostic tool. This volume, taken from the proceedings of a conference in August 1999, discusses such issues.

Circulating Nucleic Acids in Plasma and Serum V