Research Projects

Treatment of cancers like NSCLC has revolutionized in the last decade owing to the identification of driver mutations targetable by tyrosine kinase inhibitors. However, a major challenge in the treatment of patients with NSCLC is acquired resistance to therapy. Therefore, there is a need for timely disease monitoring and early detection of disease progression. As tissue biopsy cannot be performed repeatedly for disease monitoring, liquid biopsy, which detects circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patient’s blood, can be used as an alternative. In lung cancer, various studies have shown successful mutation detection and disease monitoring using ctDNA. Therefore, in this study we aim to establish cell-free DNA as a diagnostic and monitoring tool in NSCLC. An early detection of acquired resistance and disease progression with this tool will help in delivering timely and effective treatment to patients with NSCLC.