In recent years, Oncology has undergone a true revolution at the hands of Precision Medicine, thanks to an ever deeper knowledge of molecular biology.
This knowledge, together with the identification of biomarkers, has made it possible to subdivide and classify tumors, better understand their evolution, and develop more specific treatments against certain types of cancer.
And although these biomarkers are routinely identified by performing tissue biopsies obtained from patient samples, specialists have a new tool: liquid biopsy.
It is a procedure similar to analytical, although in this case what is sought are tumor cells or their products, such as circulating DNA fragments.
And the result is that thanks to this test it can help find cancer at an early stage.
The current applications of this technique include both obtaining information on the molecular alterations of tumors and minimally invasive monitoring of patients throughout their treatment.
Advantages of liquid biopsy
Identification of biomarkers in blood is possible because tumors continuously release cells, DNA fragments, and other molecules into the bloodstream. And all this material can be detected through liquid biopsy.
As the Dr. Enriqueta Felippresident of the:
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“liquid biopsy is an important element in current research in oncology, and numerous studies have demonstrated its role in early determination of the efficacy of treatments, as well as in the identification of mutations involved in resistance to target drugs “.
On the other hand, the Dr. Luis Paz-Arespresident of the explains:
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“Among the advantages of this technique we find that it is a minimally invasive procedure, without the complications that conventional biopsies usually cause.”
But not only that. As the doctor adds:
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“It also makes it possible to follow the evolution of patients’ treatment in real time, as well as to plan a more personalized treatment both before and during treatment.”
Limitations of this technique
Despite all the advantages for diagnosis and monitoring the effectiveness of treatments, liquid biopsy still has some limitations.
The first of these is that its clinical application for many situations is still under investigation.
It must also be taken into account that, as it is a very sensitive procedure, there may be cases in which small amounts of a certain mutation are detected and the treatment is modified without actually obtaining any therapeutic benefit for the patient.
Finally, its use is recent, so there is not enough experience to determine how often this test should be performed on the patient to have a clear image of its evolution, for example.
Difference Between Tissue Biopsy and Liquid Biopsy
Tissue biopsy provides information on the genomic alterations that exist at a specific point in the tumor from which the sample is obtained.
On the other hand, “liquid biopsy allows us to obtain more extensive information, since it collects the possible alterations that exist in different tumor locations, giving more information about the possible heterogeneity of the genomic profile between the primary tumor and its metastatic locations, explains the doctor Paz-Ares,
Obtaining this variety of the tumor genome is something “fundamental” in the words of Dr. Felip. Because, as the expert points out, “this information can have an impact on the type of treatment that is chosen.”
“Furthermore, as it is a minimally invasive technique, it can be repeated during the course of the disease, thus providing dynamic information in real time on the genomic profile of the tumor at all times, and seeing how it evolves at the genomic level depending on the treatments that are applied. administered to the patient”, concludes Felip.