Liquid biopsy biomarkers for early detection of gastrointestinal cancers: Current landscape and emerging technologies - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #gastrointestinal cancers
- #liquid biopsy
- #early detection
- Liquid biopsy is a transformative approach for minimally invasive early detection of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.
- Technologies include ctDNA sequencing, DNA methylation profiling, fragmentomics, extracellular vesicles, circulating tumor cells, and tumor-educated platelets.
- Sensitivity in stage I GI cancers remains limited due to low tumor burden and analyte scarcity.
- Clonal hematopoiesis can confound mutation-based assays, necessitating epigenetic and multi-analyte strategies.
- Multi-analyte and machine learning-driven approaches are in late-stage clinical trials for improved specificity and sensitivity.
- Recent FDA approvals for blood-based colorectal cancer screening tests highlight translational progress.
- Key challenges include improving early-stage detection, specificity, and integration with existing screening methods.