Liquid biopsies in pancreatic cancer.

Liquid biopsies in pancreatic cancer. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2019 Sep 18;: Authors: Kamyabi N, Bernard V, Maitra A Abstract Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a disease of near uniform lethality. Invasive tissue biopsies of primary or metastatic lesions remain the gold standard for diagnosis, but repeated sampling is infeasible. Non-invasive liquid biopsies, which better represent the heterogeneity of PDAC, offer new opportunities for early diagnosis during surveillance in high-risk cohorts, and for the longitudinal analysis of tumor evolution and progression in patients on therapy. In particular, liquid biopsies can capture tumor-associated components, such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), extracellular vesicles (EVs), and circulating tumor cells (CTCs), each of which provides genomic and molecular information about the underlying PDAC that can potentially inform clinical decisions. Areas covered: Here, we reviewed current knowledge and recent technological advances regarding liquid biopsy in PDAC and mention the pitfalls and benefits in each methodology. We also discuss clinical correlative studies for diagnosis and prognosis in PDAC. Expert opinion: Despite the technical or biological challenges mentioned in this review, in pancreatic cancer where tissue samples are limited and repeated tissue biopsies are mostly invasive and infeasible, liquid biopsies opened a new window for tumor diagnosis, molecular...
Source: Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Expert Rev Anticancer Ther Source Type: research