DETECTION OF EXTRACELLULAR TUMOR-ASSOCIATED NUCLEIC ACID IN BLOOD PLASMA OR SERUM

摘要

This invention relates to detection of specific extracellular nucleic acid in plasma or serum fractions of human or animal blood associated with neoplastic, pre-malignant or proliferative disease. Specifically, the invention relates to detection of nucleic acid derived from mutant oncogenes or other tumor-associated DNA, and to those methods of detecting and monitoring extracellular mutant oncogenes or tumor-associated DNA found in the plasma or serum fraction of blood by using DNA extraction with or without enrichment for mutant DNA.