Life (Mar 2022)

Liquid Biopsy in Diagnosis and Prognosis of High-Grade Gliomas; State-of-the-Art and Literature Review

  • Lapo Bonosi,
  • Gianluca Ferini,
  • Giuseppe Roberto Giammalva,
  • Umberto Emanuele Benigno,
  • Massimiliano Porzio,
  • Evier Andrea Giovannini,
  • Sofia Musso,
  • Rosa Maria Gerardi,
  • Lara Brunasso,
  • Roberta Costanzo,
  • Federica Paolini,
  • Francesca Graziano,
  • Gianluca Scalia,
  • Giuseppe Emmanuele Umana,
  • Rina Di Bonaventura,
  • Carmelo Lucio Sturiale,
  • Domenico Gerardo Iacopino,
  • Rosario Maugeri

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/life12030407
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 3
p. 407

Abstract

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Gliomas, particularly high-grade gliomas, represent the most common and aggressive tumors of the CNS and are still burdened by high mortality and a very poor prognosis, regardless of the type of therapy. Their diagnosis and monitoring rely on imaging techniques and direct biopsy of the pathological tissue; however, both procedures have inherent limitations. To address these limitations, liquid biopsies have been proposed in this field. They could represent an innovative tool that could help clinicians in the early diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis of these tumors. Furthermore, the rapid development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has led to a significant reduction in sequencing cost, with improved accuracy, providing a molecular profile of cancer and leading to better survival results and less disease burden. This paper focuses on the current clinical application of liquid biopsy in the early diagnosis and prognosis of cancer, introduces NGS-related methods, reviews recent progress, and summarizes challenges and future perspectives.

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