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Review
. 2022 Jul 13;14(14):3394.
doi: 10.3390/cancers14143394.

Liquid Biopsy in Glioblastoma

Lorian Ronvaux  1   2 , Matteo Riva  3   4 , An Coosemans  4 , Marielle Herzog  2 , Guillaume Rommelaere  2 , Nathalie Donis  5 , Lionel D'Hondt  6 , Jonathan Douxfils  1   5
Affiliations
Review

Liquid Biopsy in Glioblastoma

Lorian Ronvaux et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor. Despite recent advances in therapy modalities, the overall survival of GBM patients remains poor. GBM diagnosis relies on neuroimaging techniques. However, confirmation via histopathological and molecular analysis is necessary. Given the intrinsic limitations of such techniques, liquid biopsy (mainly via blood samples) emerged as a non-invasive and easy-to-implement alternative that could aid in both the diagnosis and the follow-up of GBM patients. Cancer cells release tumoral content into the bloodstream, such as circulating tumor DNA, circulating microRNAs, circulating tumor cells, extracellular vesicles, or circulating nucleosomes: all these could serve as a marker of GBM. In this narrative review, we discuss the current knowledge, the advantages, and the disadvantages of each circulating biomarker so far proposed.

Keywords: biomarkers; circulating microRNAs; circulating nucleosomes; circulating tumor DNA; circulating tumor cells; diagnosis; extracellular vesicles; follow-up; glioblastoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Magnetic resonance imaging features of a patient with GBM in the left frontal lobe. GBM appears as a hypointense or isointense mass on T1-weighted images (A), with a ring pattern of enhancement on gadolinium-enhanced images reflecting the increased blood–brain barrier permeability (B). GBM is typically hyperintense on both T2-weighted (C) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR, D) images, surrounded by vasogenic edema. Perfusion-weighted imaging is an advanced MRI method useful in GBM for differential diagnosis (E).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of circulating biomarkers that are disseminated from the tumor into the bloodstream across the partially disrupted blood–brain barrier (BBB). Circulating biomarkers are also released directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Next, blood or CSF can be sampled non-invasively and analyzed through different analytical methods. Several classes of biomarkers can be accessed and quantified in liquid biopsies, such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles (EVs), and circulating nucleosomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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