Urine cfDNA: a new era for liquid biopsy research

Urine Workflow, Urine, Collection, Stabilization, transportation, storage, PAXgene Urine, PAXgene Urine Liquid Biopsy Set, PAXgene Urine Liquid Biopsy Tube, PAXgene Urine Collection Cup, Urine collection, urine collection cup, PAX Urine, cfDNA stabilization, urinary cfDNA, ucfDNA, PAX ucfDNA, Urine cell-free DNA, PAX Urine Tube, 769143, 769114

Application of urine cfDNA in liquid biopsy research workflows

While initial liquid biopsy research primarily focused on blood-derived tumor biomarkers, such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), recent studies have also identified cancer-derived nucleic acids also in urine. Urinary cell-free DNA (cfDNA) holds great promise, since urine collection is not just a truly non-invasive sample but also has shown to have complementary information to blood.

However, urine cfDNA analysis comes with several challenges, such as loss of target cfDNA due to the high activity of nucleic acid hydrolyzing enzymes, which are 100-fold more active in urine than to plasma. Dilution of target cfDNA is another critical issue, as urine can contain DNA from non-cancerous cells, inflammatory cells, or bacteria. This results in low overall concentrations of cfDNA in urine, which is why urine cfDNA stabilization and the use of highly sensitive detection techniques are required to obtain reliable results.

We have tested several downstream analyses for urine cfDNA, including digital PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches in three cancer types (metastatic prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer) with and without urine stabilization. Under proper preanalytical conditions, urine can provide complementary information about a patient’s tumor that might be missed in plasma. Taken together, particularly in urogenital cancers, the sensitivity of liquid biopsy could be improved by urine cfDNA analyses, provided that standardized preanalytical workflows are used.

The PAXgene Urine Liquid Biopsy Set enables urine cfDNA analysis

Analysis of urine cfDNA can be challenging due to post-collection changes of the urine cfDNA profile. Optimized preanalytical workflows, including urine stabilization, are required for reliable urine cfDNA analysis. In this webinar, we want to introduce the first verified, complete, standardized preanalytical workflow for cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis from urine. You will learn about the importance of stabilization, transportation at room temperature, and ease of use using the PAXgene Urine Liquid Biopsy Set. Furthermore, we describe optimized options for automated and manual urine cfDNA isolation from stabilized urine with QIAGEN extraction kits and downstream technologies compatible with the isolated cfDNA.

About the speaker

Prof. Ellen Heitzer,

Medical University of Graz

Prof. Ellen Heitzer is an EU-registered clinical laboratory geneticist at Diagnostic & Research Institute of Human Genetics, Medical University of Graz, Austria, where she is heading the Research Unit for liquid biopsies for personalized medicine in cancer. Her research group has extensive experience in the analysis of plasma and urine DNA and has established a plethora of plasma DNA-based approaches. These methods study genome-wide copy number alterations and high-sensitivity approaches to detect specific mutations occurring at low allele frequencies. In this highly competitive field, the group is internationally recognized. As a steering committee member of the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS), Prof. Heitzer advocates for the standardization and guidelines of liquid biopsy approaches to enable widespread clinical use.

Dr. Daniela Mancarella,

Daniela Mancarella is an R&D scientific expert within PreAnalytiX (a QIAGEN and BD joint venture) in Hilden (Germany) and was involved in the development of the PAXgene Urine Liquid Biopsy Set. Prior to joining QIAGEN, Daniela graduated from the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technical University (RWTH) Aachen (Germany) as a biotechnologist and earned her PhD at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg (Germany).