The double agents in liquid biopsy: promoter and informant biomarkers of early metastases in breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer continues to be a major global problem with significant mortality associated with advanced stage and metastases at clinical presentation. However, several findings suggest that metastasis is indeed an early occurrence. The standard diagnostic techniques such as invasive core needle biopsy, serological protein marker assays, and non-invasive radiological imaging do not provide information about the presence and molecular profile of small fractions of early metastatic tumor cells which are prematurely dispersed in the circulatory system. These circulating tumor cells (CTCs) diverge from the primary tumors as clusters with a defined secretome comprised of circulating cell-free nucleic acids and small microRNAs (miRNAs). These circulatory biomarkers provide a blueprint of the mutational profile of the tumor burden and tumor associated alterations in the molecular signaling pathways involved in oncogenesis. Amidst the multitude of circulatory biomarkers, miRNAs serve as relatively stable and precise biomarkers in the blood for the early detection of CTCs, and promote step-wise disease progression by executing paracrine signaling that transforms the microenvironment to guide the metastatic CTCs to anchor at a conducive new organ. Random sampling of easily accessible patient blood or its serum/plasma derivatives and other bodily fluids collectively known as liquid biopsy (LB), forms an efficient alternative to tissue biopsies. In this review, we discuss in detail the divergence of early metastases as CTCs and the involvement of miRNAs as detectable blood-based diagnostic biomarkers that warrant a timely screening of cancer, serial monitoring of therapeutic response, and the dynamic molecular adaptations induced by miRNAs on CTCs in guiding primary and second-line systemic therapy.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Breast cancer; Cell-free nucleic acids; Circulating tumor cells; Liquid biopsy; Metastasis; microRNAs.

Fig. 1

Emergence of Circulating Tumor Cells in Early Stage Breast Cancer. Tumor cells enter the blood stream as single CTC or cluster of CTCs endowed with attributes of immune evasion, stemness and proliferation potentials. These cells also secrete cell-free nucleic acids that may be utilized as blood-based biomarkers for detecting the presence of breast cancer

Fig. 2

Components of Blood Biopsy for the Early Detection of Breast Cancer. Molecular components of liquid biopsy with immense implications in precision medicine