Liquid Biopsy Articles

Advanced and metastatic stages of bladder cancer are associated with a poor prognosis. Therapy options are currently limited to systemic therapy with chemo- and immunotherapeutics. In order to improve individual therapy and especially to achieve a more favorable prognosis for these patients, intrinsic molecular subtypes have recently been identified in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

Previous studies have demonstrated focal but limited molecular similarities between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and biopsies using isolated genetic assays. We hypothesized that molecular similarity between CTCs and tissue exists at the single cell level when characterized by whole genome sequencing (WGS).

To develop a risk classifier using urine-derived extracellular vesicle RNA (UEV-RNA) capable of providing diagnostic information of disease status prior to biopsy, and prognostic information for men on active surveillance (AS).

Introduction: Knowledge of the complex biology of prostate cancer is constantly growing, opening the field up to new therapeutic advances. The selection of patients on the basis of prognostic and predictive biomarkers is a challenging and emerging clinical need, not yet completely fulfilled.

Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common pediatric renal tumor. Survival rates are high, whether treated according to the European protocols (SIOP-RTSG) that use prenephrectomy chemotherapy or the Children's Oncology Group (COG) protocols, with immediate nephrectomy.

Diagnosis and follow-up in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) rely on cystoscopy and urine cytology. The aim of this review paper is to give an update on urinary biomarkers and their diagnosis and surveillance potential.

Bladder cancer is the ninth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The major problem in bladder cancer is primarily the high recurrence rate after drug treatment and resection. Although conventional screening methods, such as cystoscopy, urinary cytology and ultrasound sonography, have become widely used in a clinical setting, the diagnostic performance of these modalities is unsatisfactory due to low accuracy or high invasiveness.

Overtreatment is a well-known clinical challenge in local prostate cancer (PCa). Although risk assessment models have contributed to a better stratification of patients with local PCa, a tailored management is still in its infancy.

Liquid biopsy-the determination of circulating cells, proteins, DNA or RNA from biofluids through a "less invasive" approach-has emerged as a novel approach in all cancer entities. Circulating non-(protein) coding RNAs including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and YRNAs can be passively released by tissue or cell damage or actively secreted as cell-free circulating RNAs, bound to lipoproteins or carried by exosomes.

Despite considerable advances in the management of urothelial carcinoma (UC), better risk stratification and enhanced detection of minimal residual disease are still urgent priorities to prolong survival while avoiding the morbidity of overtreatment.

Renal cell carcinoma is a highly malignant cancer that would benefit from non-invasive innovative markers providing early diagnosis and recurrence detection. Circulating tumor cells are a particularly promising marker of tumor invasion that could be used to improve the management of patients with RCC.

Precision medicine with molecularly directed therapeutics is rapidly expanding in all subspecialties of oncology. Molecular analysis and treatment monitoring require tumor tissue, but resections or biopsies are not always feasible due to tumor location, patient safety, and cost.

Several systemic therapeutic options exist for metastatic castrate-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can molecularly profile metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and can influence decision-making, but remains untested in mCSPC.

The term 'liquid biopsy' refers to molecular analysis of a tumor's genetic features based on circulating genetic material in the peripheral blood derived from circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating miRNAs, and has emerged as a minimally invasive tool in early cancer diagnosis and disease monitoring.

The main issue concerning localized prostate cancers is the lack of a suitable marker which could help patients' stratification at diagnosis and distinguish those with a benign disease from patients with a more aggressive cancer.

Detection of androgen receptor splice variant-7 (AR-V7) mRNA in circulating tumour cells (CTCs) is associated with worse outcome in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, studies rarely report comparisons with CTC counts and biopsy AR-V7 protein expression.

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men and a major cause of cancer deaths among men worldwide. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) monitoring and histopathological examination of tumor biopsies remain gold standards in PCa diagnostics.

Proof of the clinical utility of a biomarker is when its use informs a management decision and improves patient outcomes relative to when it is not used.

To model the clinical benefit of the nuclear-localized androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) test for men with progressing metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) at the second line of therapy or greater to inform the choice of an androgen receptor signaling inhibitor (ARSI) or a taxane.

Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has progressed in several tumor entities. However, little is known about CTCs in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients. Aim of our studies was to build a stable in vitro fundament for isolation of CTCs in ccRCC.

Genetic profiling of urine cell free DNA (cfDNA) has not been evaluated in advanced prostate cancer. We performed whole genome sequencing of urine cfDNAs to identify tumor-associated copy number variations in urine before and after initiating androgen deprivation therapy in HSPC stage and docetaxel chemotherapy in CRPC stage.

Introduction: Bladder cancer detection typically requires unpleasant and costly cystoscopy, a procedure potentially harmful and often accompanied by variable adverse effects. The use of urine analysis as a noninvasive method is of great scientific interest since it is enriched in tumor-related proteins, DNA and RNA which can provide a molecular landscape with multiple alterations identified in bladder cancer.

Most upper tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUCs) are muscle invasive at the time of diagnosis. Current standard methods for the diagnosis of UTUC are invasive. Urine cytology is the only non-invasive test for detecting UTUC, but its sensitivity is low.

Prostate cancer, the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in males worldwide, is estimated to be diagnosed in 1.1 million men per year. Introduction of PSA testing substantially improved early detection of prostate cancer, however it also led to overdiagnosis and subsequent overtreatment of patients with an indolent disease.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are emerging as promising molecules in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of urological tumours. Recently, our group performed two independent studies highlighting that miR-210-3p may be a useful biomarker not only for diagnosis but also for post-surgery clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) management.

Novel and minimally-invasive prostate cancer (PCa)-specific biomarkers are needed to improve diagnosis and risk stratification. Here, we investigated the biomarker potential in localized and de novo metastatic PCa (mPCa) of methylated circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in plasma.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed solid-organ cancer in males. The PSA testing may cause overdiagnosis and overtreatment for PCa patients. There is an urgent need for new biomarkers with greater discriminative precision for diagnosis and risk-stratification, to select for prostate biopsy and treatment of PCa.

Precision medicine and prediction of therapeutic response requires monitoring potential biomarkers before and after treatment. Liquid biopsies provide noninvasive prognostic markers such as circulating tumor DNA and RNA.

Cytology is widely conducted for diagnosis of urotherial bladder cancer, however its sensitivity is still low. Recent studies show that liquid biopsies can reflect tumour genomic profiles. We aim to investigate whether plasma or urine is more suitable for detecting tumour-derived DNA in patients with early stage urotherial bladder cancer.

Infection and inflammation account for approximately 25% of cancer-causing factors. Inflammation-related cancers are characterized by mutagenic DNA lesions, such as 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and 8-nitroguanine.

The development of accurate urinary biomarkers for the non-invasive detection of urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) could transform patient pathways by reducing reliance on cystoscopy, and the identification of highly prognostic (or even predictive) biomarkers could better guide patient management.

Despite being a validated source of biomarkers, liquid biopsy has not yet succeeded in becoming part of the standard clinical practice in prostate cancer patients. Few biomarkers undergo adequate validation, prospective and independent, of their predictive and/or prognostic value, which results in a lack of the different available tests in the clinical practice.

Bladder Cancer (BC) represents a clinical and social challenge due to its high incidence and recurrence rates, as well as the limited advances in effective disease management. Currently, a combination of cytology and cystoscopy is the routinely used methodology for diagnosis, prognosis and disease surveillance.

Prostate cancer is a common malignancy impacting countless men without curative options in the advanced state. Numerous therapies have been introduced in recent years improving survival and symptom control, yet optimal methods for predicting or monitoring response have not been developed.

The use of liquid biopsy on the blood from solid malignancies provides a convenient way of detecting actionable mutations, monitoring treatment response, detecting early recurrence and prognosticating outcomes.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer in men worldwide with an incidence of 14.8% and a mortality of 6.6%. Shortcomings in comprehensive medical check-ups in low- and middle-income countries lead to delayed detection of PCa and are causative of high numbers of advanced PCa cases at first diagnosis.

Although prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common tumors in European males, the only minimally invasive diagnostic tool in PCa setup is the determination of PSA in serum. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has been demonstrated to be helpful for PCa diagnosis but has not yet been integrated into the clinical setting.

The identification of molecular markers associated with response to specific therapy is a key step for the implementation of personalized treatment strategies in patients with metastatic prostate cancer (PC).

Exosomes have recently appeared as a novel source of noninvasive cancer biomarkers, since these nanovesicles contain molecules from cancer cells and can be detected in biofluids. We have here investigated the potential use of lipids in urinary exosomes as prostate cancer biomarkers.

Diagnosis and surveillance of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is mainly based on endoscopic bladder evaluation and urine cytology. Several assays for determining additional molecular markers (urine-, tissue- or blood-based) have been developed in recent years but have not been included in clinical guidelines so far.

Of the patients undergoing radical cystectomy, 20-80% experience relapse. Minimally invasive methods for early detection of metastatic relapse after cystectomy and for monitoring ongoing therapy are urgently needed to improve individualised follow-up and treatment.

Due to high nuclease activity and complex contents in urine, urinary cell-free DNA (ucfDNA) was prone to degrade. So, we developed standardized urine collection tube (UCT) to prevent ucfDNA degradation and simultaneously maintain urinary cells in their original form during the sample collection process, ensuring stabilization of the original proportion and integrity of ucfDNA.

Current non-invasive approaches for detection of urothelial cancers are suboptimal. We developed a test to detect urothelial neoplasms using DNA recovered from cells shed into urine. UroSEEK incorporates massive parallel sequencing assays for mutations in 11 genes and copy number changes on 39 chromosome arms.

In many cancer types, the expression and function of ~22 nucleotide-long microRNAs (miRNA) is deregulated. Mature miRNAs can be stably detected in extracellular vesicles (EVs) in biofluids, therefore they are considered to have great potential as biomarkers.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) expressing AR-V7 protein localized to the nucleus (nuclear-specific) identify metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with improved overall survival (OS) on taxane therapy relative to the androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSi) abiraterone acetate, enzalutamide, and apalutamide.

Bladder cancer is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract, having one of the highest recurrence rates and progression from non-muscle to muscle invasive bladder cancer that commonly leads to metastasis.

There is a lack of molecularly-informed biomarkers for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing is a minimally-invasive alternative to tissue for profiling the genome in other cancers but relevance in metastatic RCC remains unclear.

Plasma glycosaminoglycan (GAG) measurements, when aggregated into diagnostic scores, accurately distinguish metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from healthy samples and correlate with prognosis.

Novel therapies for castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) have been introduced in the clinic with possibilities for individualized treatment plans. Best practice of those expensive drugs requires predictive biomarker monitoring.

Several treatment options were recently added for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, response to therapy is variable, and biomarkers that can guide treatment selection and response evaluation are lacking.

While programmed death 1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint inhibitors have activity in a proportion of patients with advanced bladder cancer, strongly predictive and prognostic biomarkers are still lacking.