Selecting short length nucleic acids localized in exosomes improves plasma EGFR mutation detection in NSCLC patients.

Target nucleic acids and their size distribution may be critical considerations for selecting an extraction method and a detection assay. A short-length exoTNA (200 bp) contained more detectable tumor-derived nucleic acids than exoDNA (~ 200 bp length or a full-length) or cfDNA. Therefore, a short-length exoTNA as a sensitive biomarker might be useful to detect EGFR mutants for NSCLC patients with low copy number of the mutation target.