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Review
. 2023 Feb 16;24(4):4014.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24044014.

Metastatic Melanoma: Liquid Biopsy as a New Precision Medicine Approach

Elena Ricciardi  1 , Elena Giordani  1 , Giovanna Ziccheddu  1 , Italia Falcone  2 , Patrizio Giacomini  3 , Maurizio Fanciulli  2 , Michelangelo Russillo  4 , Marianna Cerro  5 , Gennaro Ciliberto  6 , Aldo Morrone  7 , Antonino Guerrisi  8 , Fabio Valenti  1
Affiliations
Review

Metastatic Melanoma: Liquid Biopsy as a New Precision Medicine Approach

Elena Ricciardi et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Precision medicine has driven a major change in the treatment of many forms of cancer. The discovery that each patient is different and each tumor mass has its own characteristics has shifted the focus of basic and clinical research to the singular individual. Liquid biopsy (LB), in this sense, presents new scenarios in personalized medicine through the study of molecules, factors, and tumor biomarkers in blood such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), exosomes and circulating tumor microRNAs (ct-miRNAs). Moreover, its easy application and complete absence of contraindications for the patient make this method applicable in a great many fields. Melanoma, given its highly heterogeneous characteristics, is a cancer form that could significantly benefit from the information linked to liquid biopsy, especially in the treatment management. In this review, we will focus our attention on the latest applications of liquid biopsy in metastatic melanoma and possible developments in the clinical setting.

Keywords: circulating tumor DNA; circulating tumor cells; liquid biopsy; metastatic melanoma; precision medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A schematic view of liquid biopsy. Blood collected from cancer patients contains circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), exosomes, and circulating tumor microRNA (ct-miRNA). These biomarkers could provide real-time information on tumor progression, prognosis, and treatment response.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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