Anthony, No one called it a false negative. The liquid biopsy is a blood test. I guess it means that the liquid biopsy couldn't detect any cancer cells circulating in my blood stream. This was of some comfort as I figured it means that my lung cancer cells are not moving through my blood into other blood organs like brain or liver. My lung cancer has been contained in my lungs for the last 25 years. It has been popping up recently in small nodules in my lungs which needle biopsy as NSCLC. So it made sense to me that it didn't show up in my blood. For whatever reason it is not traveling/shedding cells through my blood.

How long was it between the liquid biopsy and the needle biopsy? I've been wondering how well the liquid biopsy does.

Tony

I had liquid biopsy for NSCLC a few months ago by Caris. It detected no cancer cells in my blood. My two spots on PET have since been needled biopsied. They are mucinous adenocarcinoma (the same thing as the old BAC I had in 2000). The charge for this test was $21,000. Luckily Medicare allowable was only about $2,500. All said and done, my cost was zero.

Did your doctor call the results of the liquid biopsy a "false negative" or is there a different interpretation for it?

Sorry I don't remember. But maybe a month or two between liquid and needle biopsy. And it didn't find any cancer in my blood. Plus it was very costly, even though it was completely covered ... I always hate seeing numbers that big anywhere on a bill with my name on it because you just never know.