Liquid Biopsy in Glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor. Despite recent advances in therapy modalities, the overall survival of GBM patients remains poor. GBM diagnosis relies on neuroimaging techniques. However, confirmation via histopathological and molecular analysis is necessary. Given the intrinsic limitations of such techniques, liquid biopsy (mainly via blood samples) emerged as a non-invasive and easy-to-implement alternative that could aid in both the diagnosis and the follow-up of GBM patients. Cancer cells release tumoral content into the bloodstream, such as circulating tumor DNA, circulating microRNAs, circulating tumor cells, extracellular vesicles, or circulating nucleosomes: all these could serve as a marker of GBM. In this narrative review, we discuss the current knowledge, the advantages, and the disadvantages of each circulating biomarker so far proposed.

Keywords

• glioblastoma
• diagnosis
• follow-up
• biomarkers
• circulating tumor DNA
• circulating microRNAs