A modified Phenol-chloroform extraction method for isolating circulating cell free DNA of tumor patients

Searching for new cancer biomarkers, circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has become an appealing target of interest as an elevated level of cfDNA has been detected in the circulation of cancer patients in comparison with healthy controls. Since cfDNA can be isolated from the circulation and other body fluids of patients without harming their physical condition, cfDNA is becoming a promising candidate as a novel non-invasive biomarker for cancer. The challenge in the diagnostic analysis of cfDNA is its very low presence in human plasma/serum and its partially strong fragmentation. Here we evaluated a modified phenol/chloroform extraction method for the isolation of cfDNA and compared it with published standard methods for cfDNA isolation.