Liquid biopsy for glioblastoma diagnosis
Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive diagnostic tool that involves the analysis of tumor-derived materials, such as DNA, RNA, or proteins, that circulate in the blood or other bodily fluids. While the liquid biopsy is a promising approach for cancer diagnosis, its use in the diagnosis of glioblastoma, a highly aggressive brain cancer, is still in the early stages of development. The challenges of detecting glioblastoma-associated biomarkers in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid, as well as the potential for false-positive or false-negative results, are still being addressed. However, research into the use of liquid biopsy for glioblastoma diagnosis is ongoing and may hold promise for improving the early detection and monitoring of this deadly disease.
Mathios et al. highlight the recent methodological improvements in the field of liquid biopsy technologies specifically for glioblastoma diagnosis. Although many retrospective and few prospective studies have been conducted to assess the utility of circulating biomarkers for the detection of brain tumors, none have yet moved forward to clinical implementation 1).
Liquid biopsy can be used to detect recurrent disease, often earlier than using imaging modalities. Liquid biopsy is a rapidly developing field, and similarly to other types of cancer, measuring circulating tumor-derived nucleic acids from biological fluid samples could be the future of differential diagnostics, patient stratification, and follow up in the future in glioblastoma as well 2).
A number of circulating factors have been examined, including circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA, microRNA, exosomes, and proteins from both peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid with variable results 3).
It was feasible to measure Cell-free DNA concentration. Despite the limited cohort size, there was a good tendency between cfDNA and treatment course and -response, respectively with the highest levels at progression 4)
Plasma cell-free DNA may be an effective prognostic tool and surrogate of tumor burden in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Detection of somatic alterations in plasma is feasible when samples are obtained prior to initial surgical resection 5).
It is a promising prognostic biomarker for IDH-wildtype glioblastoma. Plasma cfDNA can be obtained noninvasively and may enable more accurate estimates of survival and effective clinical trial stratification 6)