The Role of Liquid Biopsy in Neuroblastoma: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Neuroblastoma (NBL), is the most common, non-CNS solid tumor of childhood. This disease presents with unique biological and clinical challenges necessitating accurate diagnosis, prognosis assessment, treatment, and vigilant monitoring. Liquid biopsy is an upcoming, innovative, and non-invasive diagnostic modality. It has the potential to detect tumors and perform therapeutic monitoring through the analysis of circulating biomarkers in blood, urine, saliva, and other bodily fluids.

Methodology: This scoping review offers an in-depth exploration, of the current landscape of liquid biopsy-based biomarkers in NBL. The review looks at the clinical implications, prevalent challenges, and future outlook of their clinical applications in NBL. The scoping review adhered to the guidelines of the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews, known as PRISMA-ScR, as the skeletal framework. The review involved comprehensive searches for liquid biopsy-based biomarkers in NBL across multiple databases, including PUBMED, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and WEB of Science, without restrictions.

Results: The scoping review process uncovered a significant body of literature (n = 201) that underwent meticulous scrutiny, ultimately leading to the final selection of studies (n = 15). The liquid biopsy biomarkers included circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), exosomes, and other entities in bodily fluids. Their evaluation focused on associations with clinical outcomes such as overall survival, event-free survival, and risk stratification in NBL.

Conclusion: Our findings highlight the potential of liquid biopsy biomarkers to revolutionize NBL diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. This rapidly evolving frontier in pediatric oncology suggests significant advancements in precision medicine for the management of NBL.

Keywords: Cancer biomarkers; Circulating tumor cells; Ct DNAs; Liquid biopsy; Neuroblastoma; Therapeutic monitoring; cfDNA.