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Review
. 2023 Jan 28;24(3):2505.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24032505.

Liquid Biopsy for Lung Cancer: Up-to-Date and Perspectives for Screening Programs

Giovanna Maria Stanfoca Casagrande  1 , Marcela de Oliveira Silva  1 , Rui Manuel Reis  1   2   3 , Letícia Ferro Leal  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Liquid Biopsy for Lung Cancer: Up-to-Date and Perspectives for Screening Programs

Giovanna Maria Stanfoca Casagrande et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer worldwide. Tissue biopsy is currently employed for the diagnosis and molecular stratification of lung cancer. Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive approach to determine biomarkers from body fluids, such as blood, urine, sputum, and saliva. Tumor cells release cfDNA, ctDNA, exosomes, miRNAs, circRNAs, CTCs, and DNA methylated fragments, among others, which can be successfully used as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of treatment response. Predictive biomarkers are well-established for managing lung cancer, and liquid biopsy options have emerged in the last few years. Currently, detecting EGFR p.(Tyr790Met) mutation in plasma samples from lung cancer patients has been used for predicting response and monitoring tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKi)-treated patients with lung cancer. In addition, many efforts continue to bring more sensitive technologies to improve the detection of clinically relevant biomarkers for lung cancer. Moreover, liquid biopsy can dramatically decrease the turnaround time for laboratory reports, accelerating the beginning of treatment and improving the overall survival of lung cancer patients. Herein, we summarized all available and emerging approaches of liquid biopsy-techniques, molecules, and sample type-for lung cancer.

Keywords: biomarkers; liquid biopsy; lung cancer; precision medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of liquid biopsy. Inspired by Hanahan & Weinberg (192).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of cfDNA and ctDNA. Individual aspects and similarities of both molecules are described.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Purposed workflow for lung cancer screening programs associating low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) and minimally invasive biomarkers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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