Scientists are working on ways to use RT-PCR in cancer detection to help improve prognosis, and monitor response to therapy. Circulating tumor cells produce unique mRNA transcripts depending on the type of cancer. The goal is to determine which mRNA transcripts serve as the best biomarkers for a particular cancer cell type and then analyze its expression levels with RT-PCR.
RT-PCR is commonly used in studying the genomes of viruses whose genomes are composed of RNA, such as Influenzavirus A, retroviruses like HIV and SARS-CoV-2.