Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Analysing cell-free DNA from a blood sample provides a minimally invasive alternative to a conventional tissue biopsy and enables molecular characterization of tumours. The performance of the new Sarstedt S-Monovette® blood collection tube has not yet been formally evaluated against a reference standard. The performance of Streck® and Sarstedt S-Monovette® tubes were compared by their ability to yield cell-free DNA, cell-free DNA stability and cell-free DNA purity. Thirty patients undergoing liquid biopsy for clinical follow-up were enrolled. DNA yield was estimated by plasmatic DNA quantification and DNA purity was estimated by DNA fragments size and stability by the difference between day 0 and day 7. On day 0, the median cell-free DNA yield was significantly lower in Sarstedt S-Monovette® tubes than in Streck® tubes (paired Wilcoxon test, p = 0.00095, median 19.5 ng and 24.2 ng, respectively). Cell-free DNA stability rejected the null hypothesis in Sarstedt S-Monovette® tubes, but not in Streck® tubes (Wilcoxon, p = 0.0016 and p = 0.81, respectively), suggesting leukocyte lysis in Sarstedt S-Monovette® tubes between days 0 and 7. This study demonstrated that Sarstedt S-Monovette® tubes yielded lower amounts of cell-free DNA than Streck® tubes on day 0. Sarstedt S-Monovette also demonstrated significant leukocyte lysis between days 0 and 7. Further studies are required to determine the clinical significance of the observed differences in DNA yield and stability.</p>