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The use of liquid biopsy is expanding, and continued research will help maximize its potential for precision medicine and personalized treatment in oncology.
According to a review in Cancer Science, liquid biopsy continues to evolve due to technological advancements, and collaborative research is poised to augment its impact in personalized medicine and oncology.
In this review, Ying Bao and colleagues explored the expanding role of liquid biopsy applications in clinical practice, emphasizing its crucial contribution to improving patient results via early identification, ongoing surveillance, and personalized treatment.
“Liquid biopsy marks a significant milestone in medical diagnostics, reflecting the culmination of extensive research and innovation. It provides a less invasive option for probing cancer’s molecular landscape and has become an essential part of modern clinical practice,” Bao and colleagues wrote.
Benefits of Liquid Biopsy
Liquid biopsy provides several benefits across numerous biofluids, such as blood, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, and pleural effusions. In contrast to traditional tumor biopsies, which involve surgical procedures, one of the primary advantages of liquid biopsy is its noninvasive nature. Liquid biopsy necessitates only a biofluid sample, eliminating the need for surgery, anesthesia, related risks, and recovery time associated with traditional biopsies.
“This noninvasiveness enables frequent and timely monitoring, providing continuous insights into tumor dynamics for early detection of disease progression and therapy response,” Bao and colleagues said.
Liquid biopsy also provides genomic profiles of both primary and metastatic cancer sites, allows tracking of tumor dynamics, and detects resistance or recurrence. Additionally, advancements in ultrasensitive methods such as digital PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS) improve the accuracy of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis. Liquid biopsy also enables a comprehensive approach to cancer care, enhancing diagnostic precision and treatment selection. This integrated process can augment patient outcomes and support personalized medicine in oncology care.
“The integration of AI into liquid biopsy data analysis promises to enhance the precision of clinical decision-making by revealing complex biomarker patterns,” the researchers added.
Challenges and Limitations
There are also challenges associated with liquid biopsies, including technical and clinical limitations related to liquid biopsy techniques. Examples may include achieving a balance between sensitivity (detecting all instances of a disease or mutation) and specificity (identifying those without the disease correctly). This balance is often complex due to ctDNA scarcity ctDNA and the existence of other genetic materials, which can cause false negatives or false positives, potentially affecting treatment decisions. Liquid biopsies may not fully obtain a tumor’s diverse genetic profile, possibly missing critical therapeutic targets or distorting the progression of cancer.
Other limitations and challenges include technical challenges since the low concentration of ctDNA and circulating tumor cells in various biofluids obscures their isolation and analysis. Isolating and standardizing microRNA and extracellular vesicles pose specific challenges since these molecules require sensitive detection methods and reference standards.
“Other challenges include the risk of contamination with nontumor DNA, the dynamic nature of tumors that require timely capture for accurate diagnosis, and the economic and accessibility issues associated with cost and availability,” the authors wrote.
Bao and colleagues emphasized that continued research is imperative to maximizing liquid biopsy’s potential for use in the clinical setting.
“Sustained innovation will ensure that liquid biopsy remains at the forefront of precision medicine and proactive healthcare,” they concluded.
