Contents
Special Issue Topic

Liquid Biopsy in Thoracic Cancer

Guest Editors

Dr. Floriana Morgillo E-Mail

Medical Oncology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy

Research Keywords: lung cancer; targeted therapy; immunotherapy; translational research; resistance mechnisms

Dr. Carminia Maria Della Corte E-Mail

Medical Oncology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy

About the Special lssue

“Liquid biopsy” of biological fluids (e.g., plasma and serum, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, pleural fluid, ascites, stool) is emerging as a powerful tool for non-invasive diagnosis, screening, prognosis, and stratification of cancer patients. This approach is based on the fact that tumor cells release molecules (proteins, DNA, RNA), circulating tumor cells (CTC), and extra cellular vesicles (EV) that can be used as biomarkers.

Considerable attention has been devoted to the analysis of EGFR mutations in patients with NSCLC, as it is often challenging to obtain tissue biopsies from these patients to help to inform treatment. At present, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve the use of information from ctDNA analysis to help to select patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC for anti-EGFR therapy in the event that a tumour sample is not evaluable. This could offer a pragmatic solution that provides molecular profiling information for patients while avoiding repeat biopsies for some individuals.

Further studies are ongoing to evaluate the role of this approach for small cell lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma.

Liquid biopsies may be repeated frequently to provide a more detailed picture of the natural history of the disease with a longitudinal assessment of tumor burden and clues about clonal evolution and emergence of drug- resistant clones leading to clinical relapse, thus implementing our understanding of disease evolution and management.

Keywords: CTC; early diagnosis; tumor heterogeneity; biomarkers; therapeutic resistance

Published Articles

Open Access Editorial
Analysis of DNA from liquid biopsy: new genetic biomarkers for cancer immunotherapy?
Carminia Maria Della Corte ... Floriana Morgillo
Published: April 30, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:204–207
2111 23 0
Open Access Review
Liquid biopsy in NSCLC: a new challenge in radiation therapy
Annarita Perillo ... Ida Rosalia Scognamiglio
Published: April 30, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:156–173
2994 46 0
Open Access Review
Non-invasive detection of epithelial mesenchymal transition phenotype and metastatic dissemination of lung cancer by liquid biopsy
Viviana De Rosa ... Francesca Iommelli
Published: February 28, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:36–47
2665 38 0
Open Access Review
Circulating biomarkers in malignant pleural mesothelioma
Giuseppe Viscardi ... Giulia Galli
Published: December 28, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:434–451
4097 78 8
Open Access Review
Use of liquid biopsy in monitoring therapeutic resistance in EGFR oncogene addicted NSCLC
Marialucia Iacovino ... Francesca Sparano
Published: December 28, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:391–400
3461 63 2
Open Access Review
Diagnostic and prognostic role of liquid biopsy in non-small cell lung cancer: evaluation of circulating biomarkers
Giovanni Vicidomini ... Mario Santini
Published: October 30, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:343–354
3489 39 5
Open Access Review
Future directions and management of liquid biopsy in non-small cell lung cancer
Alessia Maria Cossu ... Marco Bocchetti
Published: August 31, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:239–252
4059 67 8
Open Access Commentary
Circulating cancer stem cells: an interesting niche to explore
Federica Papaccio
Published: August 31, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:253–258
3432 87 5
Open Access Review
Role of liquid biopsy for thoracic cancers immunotherapy
Raimondo Di Liello ... Paloma Martín-Martorell
Published: June 29, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:183–199
4398 60 6