Advances in Liquid Biopsy from Technological Innovation to Therapeutic Intervention

Dear Colleagues,

Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive alternative to traditional tissue biopsies capable of providing longitudinal monitoring of tumor progression and response to therapy. Liquid biopsies such as blood, urine, aqueous humor, and ascites through the analyses of cell-free nucleic acids (cfDNA, cfRNA), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and extracellular vehicles (EVs) have shown great promise in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring. Recent advancements in assay development and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) have significantly enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of liquid biopsy techniques. In addition to their value as a minimally invasive tool for longitudinal monitoring of cancer, liquid biopsies could also serve as a rich source of information for a better understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms of metastasis leading to the discovery of new drug targets and biomarkers. On top of that, recent reports have showed that elimination of CTCs from patients’ circulation could hinder metastasis.

This Special Issue aims to capture the current state of the art in liquid biopsy research including the following topics:

1. Technological innovations including AI-assisted models for the detection of rare circulating events and for patients’ classification.
2. Liquid biopsy-based biomarkers for predicting tumor prognosis and monitoring response to treatment.
3. Liquid biopsy in cancer screening programs at the population level and of high-risk groups for early detection of cancer and detection of the disease’s precursors.
4. Patient Risk Stratification using liquid biopsy biomarkers.
5. Studies providing better understanding of the Biology of metastasis.
6. Therapeutic interventions through the elimination of circulating cancer-related events.

Dr. Mohamed Kamal
Prof. Dr. James Hicks
Guest Editors

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• liquid biopsy
• biomarkers
• circulating tumor cells