Table 3 Comparison of different approaches for ctDNA detection

Approx. cost per sample (GBP)

3 × 10

2–3

10

200

Time (96 reactions)

7 h

3 h × 2

2 days

2 days

Number of amplicons

377

1

48

n/a

Amplicon size (bp)

< 160

n/a

< 200

< 170

Number of genes

20

1 (hotspot)

6

10

Choice of targets

Flexible

Limited

Flexible

Limited

Median depth

3064

770

650 (avg)

n/a

Limit of detection (%)

1–2

> 0.1

1–2

0.6–0.1

Library material as input

Yes

Not tested

Not tested

Not tested

Ideal input (ng)

3 × 10

2–5

50

20

Multiplex

8plex

No

No

n/a

Number of samples per sequence run

384

n/a

96

12

Platform

Fluidigm Access Array

Fluidigm qdPCR

Fluidigm Access Array

Ion Chef System

Sequencing

Illumina HiSeq 4000

n/a

Illumina GAIIx

Ion S5/S5XL™