Table 2.

Definition of the clinical applications of ctDNA testing.

Clinical application ctDNA testing	Definition
Monitoring treatment response	Evaluating the response to treatment over time with serial liquid biopsies to detect disease progression during systemic treatment (chemotherapy, targeted therapy, etc.)
Tumor profiling	Detect specific mutations in clinically‐relevant targets in liquid biopsies with a single test to guide treatment decisions
Minimal residual disease (MRD) detection	Detect presence of ctDNA in liquid biopsies to improve risk stratification and guide adjuvant treatment decisions after treatment with curative intent (e.g. surgery)
Early detection/screening	Detect cancer in liquid biopsies at the earliest possible stage to have the best chance for a successful treatment