How are Solid and Liquid Biopsies different?

A solid biopsy is taken directly from within a tumor, whereas a liquid biopsy analyzes the circulating DNA (cfDNA) from cells that are shed into the bloodstream by all tumors present in a patient with metastatic cancer. Therefore, a solid biopsy generally provides a picture of the mutations found directly within an individual tumor, whereas a liquid biopsy generally provides a picture of all mutations found in all tumors, if the cancer has spread. Because of this, solid biopsies and liquid biopsies can present different results.

There are also disadvantages to each:

• A solid biopsy may miss some mutations that are found only in a small area of a tumor, or it may not provide a complete picture of all of the mutations, especially in cases where cancer has spread beyond the organ of origin.
• With a liquid biopsy, all mutations may not be equally represented by cfDNA, since it may not pick up mutations from tumors that do not shed enough cells into the bloodstream, or mutations that are found only in a small area of a tumor.

CureMatch can integrate data from both solid and liquid biopsies in its analysis and ranking of personalized combination therapy options.

Foundation Medicine is best known for analyzing solid biopsies, whereas Guardant Health is best known for analyzing liquid biopsies. However, there are many other companies who analyze solid and/or liquid biopsies. Talk to your oncologist to determine which choice is right for you.

Visit this blog post (Testing for Tumor Mutations: Liquid Biopsy Versus Traditional Biopsy) on https://www.cancercommons.org for a more detailed explanation.