Analysis of Circulating Tumor, Essay Example

Part I

Introduction

The introduction of “Voltage Clamp” appears to be effective because it provides a comprehensive background that enables individuals with no prior understanding of the topic to interpret the vocabulary terms and information relevant to the research paper. Defining “voltage clamp” is an excellent way to begin with a broad understanding of the topic because it helps the reader understand what the paper is about. Furthermore, basics about measuring the current and conductance are provided. However, the author doesn’t appear to propose a hypothesis in this section, which is beneficial to incorporate as a guiding aspect of the experiment. Furthermore, the last sentence of the introduction discusses what occurs in the results. This sentence would therefore be an ideal component of the abstract but not the introduction.

Methods

The methods section generates a clear understanding of the procedure and the steps that should be followed are effectively illustrated by diagrams. Furthermore, the vocabulary utilized reflects language that professionals would typically use when describing the materials and steps, indicating that the information was written for individuals with knowledge of physics and/or engineering. A major strength of this methods section is that the writer breaks down the information into categories, which would help an individual who wishes to replicate the experiment quickly identify the part of the procedure that he or she needs. Providing a table to summarize test conditions is also an effective way to help the reader quickly gain an understanding of the material presented through enhanced organization. On the other hand, a weakness of the methods is that it is presented in technical jargon, indicating that an individual unfamiliar with the field may not understand what is presented. While it is important for the methods section to be written in a manner that appeals to the professional, some of the information presented could be rephrased to confer a better understanding to the audience.

Results

The results section is written in a manner that allows the reader to correlate individual aims of the project to the actual results received. To enhance this presentation, the author uses both figures and word explanations to describe the observed phenomena. Providing a pictorial understanding is important because figures are often able to provide more information than their associated descriptions. An additional advantage of the presentation of the figures is that each figure is specifically referred to in the text so the reader could locate corresponding information. However, a weakness of the results section is the appropriateness of the calculation presentation. It appears that the calculations should have been present in the methods section to rationalize the analytical method utilized. An additional weakness is that there are several figures used to describe the dynamic responses of circuits under different conditions. These graphics would have been more advantageous if they were superimposed on top of one another and presented as one image. Otherwise, these figures should be placed in the appendix. All captions appear to appropriately describe the trends seen in the figures and tables.

Discussion

Last, the writer appears to adequately discuss the meaning of the results within the context of the aim of the project, which is an important strength of this section. However, the author does not justify these findings within the context of existing literature. It is ideal to back up strong assertions using citations in the discussion section.

Part II

Summary

The article discusses the need for researchers to determine biomarkers that would help physicians determine the type of treatment that should be issued (Dawson et al., 2015). A majority of these biomarkers were previously based on the genetic makeup of tumors, which is problematic because this DNA is often variable. Researchers have found that free circulating DNA is present in small concentrations in the blood of many cancer patients. Therefore, this project was conducted to determine the prevalence and utility of circulating DNA in the blood of women with breast cancer compared to other biomarkers. To do so, they compared the percentage of participants with circulating DNA and the percentage of participants with a specific biomarker called cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3). Circulating DNA was successfully detected in a majority of patients. Furthermore, it was shown to be a valuable indicator of treatment response compared to CA 15-3. Researchers are therefore interested in further explorations of the utility of circulating DNA as a biomarker for outcome and treatment.

Introduction

The introduction section provides the reader with a comprehensive background pertaining to the use of biomarkers in cancer treatment. To do so, the authors draw from relevant literature to help the reader gain an essential understanding of the value of biomarkers in addition to the need for more accurate biological predictors of treatment efficacy. While the aim of the project is clearly stated in the last sentence of the introduction, this section would be enhanced if the authors mentioned a hypothesis and discussed a rationale behind these expected findings.

Methods

The methods were described in a manner that would allow a medical professional to repeat the steps. Each section was clearly subdivided under a heading to allow the reader to gain a comprehensive understanding of the methodologies used. Furthermore, the authors include a discussion of the specific laboratory materials utilized. Specific steps for assays were excluded, which requires the reader to believe that they were all conducted according to standard protocol. This should be mentioned to ensure that the reader is able to replicate the experiment if desired.

Results

The results include a thorough statistical analysis of the patient data received and this information is accompanied by figures and graphs to allow the reader to gain a more thorough understanding of the data. It appears that this section was written effectively and in an orderly manner. There does not seem to be any major flaws associated with this section. However, some graphs, such as figure 3, contain a large sum of information. It may be valuable to break these charts down into smaller components.

Discussions                                                                                                                                  

The authors appear to justify their findings using the context of the existing literature. A brief conversation of the results reveals that researchers believe they can use their understanding of circulating DNA to help analyse other genes that are associated with breast cancer and other cancers as well. Furthermore, this section briefly discusses future steps. It would have been advantageous for the discussion section to have been longer to more thoroughly address the implications and limitations of this study. A majority of the analysis was applied in the results section, which left little room for rhetoric in the discussion. In addition, a discussion of the external or internal validity of the results would have been valuable for scientists that may want to conduct future experiments using this topic.

References

Dawson, S., Tsui, D.W.Y, Murtaza, M., Biggs, H., Rueda, O.M., Chin, S., Dunning, M.J., Gale, D., Forshew, T., Mahler-Araujo, B., Rajan, S., Humphray, S., Becq, J., Halsall, D., Wallis, M., Bentley, D., Caldas, C., Rosenfeld, N. (2015). Analysis of Circulating Tumor DNA to Monitor Metastatic Breast Cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine, 368(13):  1199-1209.