Liquid biopsies: the future of cancer early detection

Abstract

Cancer is a worldwide pandemic. The burden it imposes grows steadily on a global scale causing emotional, physical, and financial strains on individuals, families, and health care systems. Despite being the second leading cause of death worldwide, many cancers do not have screening programs and many people with a high risk of developing cancer fail to follow the advised medical screening regime due to the nature of the available screening tests and other challenges with compliance. Moreover, many liquid biopsy strategies being developed for early detection of cancer lack the sensitivity required to detect early-stage cancers. Early detection is key for improved quality of life, survival, and to reduce the financial burden of cancer treatments which are greater at later stage detection. This review examines the current liquid biopsy market, focusing in particular on the strengths and drawbacks of techniques in achieving early cancer detection. We explore the clinical utility of liquid biopsy technologies for the earlier detection of solid cancers, with a focus on how a combination of various spectroscopic and -omic methodologies may pave the way for more efficient cancer diagnostics.

Managing leukemia patients via liquid biopsy and super rolling circle amplification (superRCA)

“…This tumor‐derived DNA may be investigated in order to monitor the course of malignant disease and responses to therapy. It may also be possible to detect malignancies in clinically healthy individuals through liquid biopsy [3]—for example, via comprehensive measurements of patterns of methylation in cfDNA [4] or searches for mutations, perhaps combined with protein analyses [5] with potentially far‐reaching consequences for healthcare. In the case of leukemias, the genetically altered cells are found in the bone marrow, but they can often also be detected among nucleated blood cells, permitting unambiguous detection and quantification via blood samples.…”

Recent advancement in the detection of potential cancer biomarkers using the nanomaterial integrated electrochemical sensing technique: a detailed review

“…, biopsies) to analyze tissue samples for the presence of cancer cells. 5–9 Common treatment modalities include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and hormone therapy. In many cases, a combination of these treatments may be used to achieve the best possible outcome.…”

Augmentation of FTIR spectral datasets using Wasserstein generative adversarial networks for cancer liquid biopsies

“…8 One method that has developed over recent years is the use of vibrational spectroscopy as the basis of the liquid biopsy in order to capture multiple tumor and non-tumor derived bio-markers within one measurement. [11][12][13] It has the benefits of being rapid and low-cost, and can be used to analyse multiple different biofluids. 14 Vibrational spectroscopic methods such as Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy have previously demonstrated their potential uses within cancer detection.…”