Liquid Biopsies in Cancer

Liquid biopsy technologies, particularly circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), are an emerging tool in precision oncology with growing relevance in radiation oncology. This activity focuses on the current and near-term clinical applications of ctDNA, including noninvasive tumor genotyping, early cancer detection, and minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring. Expert physician-scientists present recent data that highlight the strengths, limitations, and practical considerations for using liquid biopsy in clinical workflows.

Topics:

  1. ctDNA for Blood-based Noninvasive Genotyping
    Scott Bratman, MD, PhD
  2. Liquid Biopsy Early Detection of Cancer
    Aadel A. Chaudhuri, MD, PhD
  3. Liquid Biopsies for Detection of Minimal Residual Disease
    Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD
  4. Q and A
    Abhijit A. Patel, MD, PhD - Moderator
    Full Panel

This activity is available from March 17, 2026, through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on March 16, 2028. 

The content was originally presented and recorded at the 2025 ASTRO Annual Meeting.

Target Audience

The activity is designed to meet the interests of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, radiation biologists and residents.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Understand the basics regarding circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and liquid biopsy technologies and applications. 
  • Understand the utility of ctDNA for noninvasive genotyping, early cancer detection, and minimal residual disease detection and monitoring. 
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

    The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education for physicians. ASTRO designates this Enduring material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

  • 1.00 Certificate of Attendance
    This activity was designated for 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Course opens: 
03/17/2026
Course expires: 
03/16/2028
Cost:
$149.00
Rating: 
0

Moderator: 

  • Aadel A. Chaudhuri, MD, PhD, is employed by the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Chaudhuri receives compensation/payment from AlphaSights, AstraZeneca, DeciBio, Guidepoint, Illumina, Roche and Tempus Labs. Dr. Chaudhuri has stock options with Geneoscopy, serves on the advisory board of Daiichi Sankyo and receives grant/research funding from Tempus Labs. Dr. Chaudhuri has ownership equity in Droplet Biosciences and LiquidCell Dx, Inc.    

Speakers:

  • Abhijit A. Patel, MD, PhD, is employed by Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Patel receives compensation/payment from NuProbe and BioState AI, grant/researching funding from AstraZeneca and has ownership equity and stock in Binary Genomics.   
  • Scott V. Bratman, MD, PhD, is employed by Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network and by Adela, Inc. Dr. Bratman is Co-Founder, owns stock and is the inventor on a patent licensed to Adela, Inc. Dr. Bratman is also the inventor on a patent licensed to Roche. 
  • Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD, is employed by Stanford Cancer Institute and Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Diehn receives grant/research funding and honoraria from AstraZeneca; honoraria and stock options from Gritstone Bio; has ownership equity and is Co-Founder of CiberMed; and receives royalties from Roche for a biomarker patent. Dr. Diehn is Co-Founder and has ownership equity in Foresight Diagnostics and has ownership equity in Perception Medicine. 

Planners: 

  • Malcolm Mattes, MD is employed at Rutgers Cancer Institute. Dr. Mattes received research/grant funding from Gilead Sciences (relationship ended 8/30/2025). Dr. Mattes has no relevant financial relationship with ineligible companies. 
  • Parul Barry, MD, is employed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Barry has no relevant financial relationship with ineligible companies. 
  • Michael Haddock, MD, is employed by Mayo Clinic and has no relevant financial relationship with ineligible companies to disclose.
  • Manisha Palta, MD, is employed by Duke Cancer Center and Duke University Hospital. Dr. Palta receives grant/research funding from Merck and Varian Medical Systems. 
  • Salma Jabbour, MD, is employed by Rutgers Cancer Institute. Dr. Jabbour receives grant/research funding from Merck & Co., Inc. and Beigene. Dr. Jabbour receives compensation/payment as a consultant with Radialogica and IMX Medical.

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

    The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education for physicians. ASTRO designates this Enduring material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

  • 1.00 Certificate of Attendance
    This activity was designated for 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

Price

Cost:
$149.00
Please login or register to take this course.

Course Fees:
ASTRO members must log in to the ASTRO website to view and receive the member rate.

  • Nonmember: $149
  • Member: $99
  • Member-in-Training: $49
  • Student/Graduate Student/PGY-1 Member: $49
  • Postdoctoral Fellow Member: $49

If you are an ASTRO member from a low or lower-middle income country, as identified by the World Bank, you can receive a 50% discount off your corresponding registration for this activity. Please email [email protected] to inquire about the discount.

Policies:
No refunds, extensions, or substitutions will be made for those participants who, for any reason, have not completed the activity by the expiration date. 

Participants using ASTRO Academy activities to satisfy the requirement of a Continuing Certification (MOC) program should verify the credit number and type and availability dates of any activity before making a purchase. No refunds, extensions, or substitutions will be made for participants who have purchased activities that do not align with their MOC requirement.

The activity and its materials will only be available on the ASTRO website until March 16, 2028, regardless of purchase date. At the expiration of the activity, participants will no longer have access to the activity or its materials. ASTRO reserves the right to remove an activity before its expiration date. 

Required Hardware/software

One of the two latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari.