The PCC have developed a new practical checklist to support standardized approaches to liquid biopsy management. The resource is available in English and French.

Liquid biopsy is an increasingly relevant minimally invasive approach in precision medicine, enabling the identification and monitoring of genomic variants associated with response to targeted therapies and the emergence of treatment resistance. However, its clinical utility depends on the quality and standardization of the entire testing workflow, from sample collection through to interpretation and reporting.

Supporting the liquid biopsy workflow

Designed as a practical resource for multidisciplinary teams, the checklist provides guidance across the three key stages of liquid biopsy management:

• Pre-analytical: patient identification, sample collection, transport, storage, and receipt in the laboratory
• Analytical: plasma isolation and storage, nucleic acid extraction and quality control, and molecular analysis
• Post-analytical: result validation, variant detection and interpretation, and reporting

It also provides practical information on blood collection and tubes, centrifugation and plasma storage, cfDNA isolation, quantification and qualification, and analysis.

Collaboration across the multidisciplinary team

Effective liquid biopsy testing requires coordination across the care pathway. The checklist highlights the importance of collaboration between pathologists, laboratory professionals, and oncologists in supporting appropriate test selection, optimal sample handling, robust analytical performance, and accurate clinical interpretation, ultimately helping to inform therapeutic decision-making.

By bringing key considerations together into an accessible checklist, the PCC and ISLB aim to provide multidisciplinary teams with a practical resource to support consistent approaches across the liquid biopsy pathway.

Download the checklist