Dr. Armstrong on the Utility of Liquid Biopsies in mCRPC

Andrew J. Armstrong, MD, professor of medicine, associate professor in pharmacology and cancer biology, and professor in surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, and member of the Duke Cancer Institute, discusses the utility of liquid biopsies in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

It can be difficult to obtain a metastatic tissue sample from men with prostate cancer as the majority of patients have bone metastases, says Armstrong. Moreover, it can be difficult to perform genomic testing on tumor tissue from bone metastases.

Additionally, most patients prefer to receive a noninvasive liquid biopsy versus an invasive tissue biopsy, explains Armstrong. Liquid biopsies can be repeated as needed to provide a comprehensive look at how the cancer is changing.

Notably, the prospective multicenter PROPHECY trial established AR-V7 as a negative biomarker of response to abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) or enzalutamide (Xtandi) in men with mCRPC based on 2 blood-based assays. As such, liquid biopsies could have widespread utility in the future, concludes Armstrong.