Search results for " Circulating Tumor DNA"

Technical Aspects for the Evaluation of Circulating Nucleic Acids (CNAs): Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) and Circulating MicroRNAs

2017

Circulating nucleic acids (CNAs), for example, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating microRNA (miRNA), represent promising biomarkers in several diseases including cancer. They can be isolated from many body fluids, such as blood, saliva, and urine. Also ascites, cerebrospinal fluids, and pleural effusion may be considered as a source of CNAs, but with several and intrinsic limitations. Therefore, blood withdrawal represents one of the best sources for CNAs due to the very simple and minimally invasive way of sampling. Moreover, it can be repeated at different time points, giving the opportunity for a real-time monitoring of the disease.

Salivary Biomarkers for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Diagnosis and Follow-Up: Current Status and Perspectives.

2019

Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer type in the world, and 90% of it is represented by oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Despite progress in preventive and therapeutic strategies, delay in OSCC diagnosis remains one of the major causes of high morbidity and mortality; indeed the majority of OSCC has been lately identified in the advanced clinical stage (i.e., III or IV). Moreover, after primary treatment, recurrences and/or metastases are found in more than half of the patients (80% of cases within the first 2 years) and the 5-year survival rate is still lower than 50%, resulting in a serious issue for public health. Currently, histological investigation represents the “gold stan…

Liquid Biopsy in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor

2017

Over the past 15 years, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) have emerged from a poorly understood neoplasm to a well-defined tumor entity. Starting from 2000, the discovery of gain-of-function mutations involving KIT or PDGFRα (platelet-derived growth factor-α) genes and the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as imatinib, revolutionized dramatically the management of GISTs. Due to the almost continual emergence of new data about biological complexity of GISTs and more sophisticated whole-genome technologies, to date, the role of molecular biology is clinically important to drive therapeutic decision making. The possibility of using liquid biopsy in GISTs was reported…

The diagnostic accuracy of circulating tumor DNA for the detection of EGFR-T790M mutation in NSCLC: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2018

AbstractThis pooled analysis aims at evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of circulating tumor (ct) DNA for the detection of EGFR-T790M mutation in NSCLC patients who progressed after EGFR-TKIs. Data from all published studies, reporting both sensitivity and specificity of plasma-based EGFR-T790M mutation testing by ctDNA were collected by searching in PubMed, Cochrane Library, American Society of Clinical Oncology, European Society of Medical Oncology and World Conference of Lung Cancer meeting proceedings. A total of twenty-one studies, with 1639 patients, were eligible. The pooled sensitivity of ctDNA analysis was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.64–0.70) and the pooled specificity was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.77–0…

Liquid biopsy in colorectal carcinoma: the search for potential prognostic and predictive biomarkers

Background: Liquid biopsy is considered a repeatable, non-invasive and dynamic tool. It could be able to recover from liquid samples (expecially blood)) cancer-specific informations (miRNAs, circulating-free DNA (cfDNA), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and exosomes) by overcoming the limitations associated with traditional tissue biopsy. Aim: to investigate the potential prognostic and predictive role of blood cancer-related biomarkers such as cfDNA or ctDNA and exosomal DNA in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Results: cfDNA or ctDNA and exosomal DNA could have a potential applicability in CRC management. New generation technologies are able to identify clinically relevant genomic alteration…

A headlight on liquid biopsies: a challenging tool for breast cancer management

2016

Breast cancer is the most frequent carcinoma and second most common cause of cancer-related mortality in postmenopausal women. The acquisition of somatic mutations represents the main mechanism through which cancer cells overcome physiological cellular signaling pathways (e.g., PI3K/Akt/mTOR, PTEN, TP53). To date, diagnosis and metastasis monitoring is mainly carried out through tissue biopsy and/or re-biopsy, a very invasive procedure limited only to certain locations and not always feasible in clinical practice. In order to improve disease monitoring over time and to avoid painful procedure such as tissue biopsy, liquid biopsy may represent a new precious tool. Indeed, it represents a bas…

The molecular profiling of solid tumors by liquid biopsy: a position paper of the AIOM–SIAPEC-IAP–SIBioC–SIC–SIF Italian Scientific Societies

2021

The term liquid biopsy (LB) refers to the use of various biological fluids as a surrogate for neoplastic tissue to achieve information for diagnostic, prognostic and predictive purposes. In the current clinical practice, LB is used for the identification of driver mutations in circulating tumor DNA derived from both tumor tissue and circulating neoplastic cells. As suggested by a growing body of evidence, however, there are several clinical settings where biological samples other than tissue could be used in the routine practice to identify potentially predictive biomarkers of either response or resistance to targeted treatments. New applications are emerging as useful clinical tools, and o…