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Biomarkers of Lung Cancer: Liquid Biopsy Comes of Age

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Biomarkers in Cancer Therapy

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Abstract

Liquid biopsy provides a new diagnostic dimension for cancer based on molecular information obtainable from fluid samples such as peripheral blood and urine. In comparison with conventional tissue sampling, liquid biopsy is noninvasive, safe, and easily repeatable, and these favorable characteristics have rapidly expanded its range of application to the management of lung cancer patients. Two sources of information can be obtained by liquid biopsy: circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)/cell-free DNA (cfDNA). As tumors show heterogeneity, it is anticipated that ctDNA may be more representative of the whole tumor cell population than small samples obtained by conventional tissue biopsy. The current applicability of liquid biopsy has been achieved through advances in highly sensitive analytic technologies such as digital PCR and next-generation sequencing. It has been reported that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement can be detected in CTCs in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with specific genetic alterations. New methods of detecting and isolating CTCs with higher efficiency and selectivity are now being developed. This review discusses the techniques of liquid biopsy and their clinical application in the context of lung cancer and addresses some of the challenges that may lie ahead.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan

    Akihiko Miyanaga

  2. Division of Cellular Signaling, Laboratory of Collaborative Research, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan

    Mari Masuda & Tesshi Yamada

Authors
  1. Akihiko Miyanaga
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  2. Mari Masuda
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  3. Tesshi Yamada
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Correspondence to Tesshi Yamada .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gastroenterology Center (Surgery), Toho University Omori Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

    Hideaki Shimada

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Miyanaga, A., Masuda, M., Yamada, T. (2019). Biomarkers of Lung Cancer: Liquid Biopsy Comes of Age. In: Shimada, H. (eds) Biomarkers in Cancer Therapy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7295-7_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7295-7_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-7294-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-7295-7

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