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Prostatic tissue biopsy; Sections show fatty tissue, neural tissue and muscle tissue; Prostate cancer diagnosis
HRR Mutation Testing in mPC

Liquid vs tissue biopsy: HRR testing choices

Last updated: 21st Oct 2025
Published: 21st Oct 2025

After listening to this podcast, are you more confident in selecting the most appropriate biopsy modality (tissue or liquid) for HRR mutation testing in patients with mPC?

Episode 4. Alicia Morgans and Colin Pritchard discuss tissue versus liquid biopsy in HRR testing for mPC, highlighting when liquid biopsy offers advantages, especially when there are challenges in accessing metastatic tissue and for capturing tumor heterogeneity. They explore how timing and CHIP can complicate ctDNA interpretation and offer practical guidance on assessing low allele fraction mutations. The conversation spotlights emerging molecular technologies and the growing importance of multidisciplinary collaboration as diagnostics evolve. “Eventually, we’ll be doing whole-genome sequencing on every tumor,” Pritchard predicts, underscoring the need for integrated expertise. View transcript.

Chapters
00:21 Tissue vs liquid biopsy in HRR testing
02:46 When is liquid biopsy preferred?
07:19 Timing of ctDNA testing and CHIP
13:13 When to avoid liquid biopsy?
15:45 Are low allele mutations meaningful?
18:42 Tech-driven and collaborative care  

 

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Meet the guest speaker

Colin PritchardColin Pritchard, MD, PhD

Colin Pritchard is a Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington Seattle, USA, and Program Director for Cancer Precision Diagnostics at the Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine. He also serves as Co-Director of the Genetics and Solid Tumors Laboratory, which supports the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. His clinical work centers on next-generation sequencing gene panels for cancer risk assessment and precision treatment. Pritchard led the development of the ColoSeq™ Lynch and Polyposis Syndrome Panel and the UW-OncoPlex™ Cancer Gene Panel, both of which are used in clinical care for people with cancer and their families.

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