Liquid biopsy

Liquid biopsies provide a minimally invasive approach for tumour molecular profiling, through the detection and analysis of various analytes (circulating tumour cells, cell-free DNA/circulating tumour DNA or extracellular vesicles) in a range of sample types (typically blood but also urine, cerebrospinal fluid or other fluids). Liquid biopsies can avoid the need for sampling of tumour tissue, allowing for repeated sampling over time. Advances in isolation methods and omic technologies are expanding the applications of liquid biopsies, enabling the discovery of diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers and providing insights into tumour biology and evolution. Recent years have seen the first prospective and interventional studies demonstrating the feasibility and utility of liquid biopsies in guiding patient care, with several liquid biopsy-based companion diagnostics now FDA-approved.

This cross-journal Collection welcomes clinical and translational research focused on the development and evaluation of liquid biopsy approaches for cancer diagnosis and early detection, patient stratification and prognostication, and therapy. We welcome biomedical engineering research on emerging detection technologies, along with observational and interventional studies demonstrating the clinical application of a test or biomarker. Multimodal and multicancer approaches are encouraged.