• Special Issue Topic

    Liquid Biopsy in Thoracic Cancer

    Submission Deadline: May 20, 2020

    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 Issue

    “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
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2021.00041
    View:1316
    Download:19
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Review
    Liquid biopsy in NSCLC: a new challenge in radiation therapy
    Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. To date, tissue biopsy has been the gold standard for the diagnosis and the identification of specific mole [...] Read more.
    Annarita Perillo ... Ida Rosalia Scognamiglio
    Published: April 30, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:156–173
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2021.00038
    View:1903
    Download:41
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Review
    Non-invasive detection of epithelial mesenchymal transition phenotype and metastatic dissemination of lung cancer by liquid biopsy
    The occurrence of phenotype switch from an epithelial to a mesenchymal cell state during the activation of the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) program in cancer cells has been closely associ [...] Read more.
    Viviana De Rosa ... Francesca Iommelli
    Published: February 28, 2021 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2:36–47
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2021.00032
    View:1594
    Download:32
    Times Cited: 0
    Open Access
    Review
    Circulating biomarkers in malignant pleural mesothelioma
    Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor strictly connected to asbestos exposure. Prognosis is dismal as diagnosis commonly occurs in advanced stage. Radiological screenings have  [...] Read more.
    Giuseppe Viscardi ... Giulia Galli
    Published: December 28, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:434–451
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2020.00028
    View:2627
    Download:64
    Open Access
    Review
    Use of liquid biopsy in monitoring therapeutic resistance in EGFR oncogene addicted NSCLC
    Liquid biopsy has emerged as a minimally invasive alternative to tumor tissue analysis for the management of lung cancer patients, especially for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) oncogene add [...] Read more.
    Marialucia Iacovino ... Francesca Sparano
    Published: December 28, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:391–400
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2020.00024
    View:2204
    Download:62
    Open Access
    Review
    Diagnostic and prognostic role of liquid biopsy in non-small cell lung cancer: evaluation of circulating biomarkers
    Lung cancer is still one of the main causes of cancer-related death, together with prostate and colorectal cancers in males and breast and colorectal cancers in females. The prognosis for non-small  [...] Read more.
    Giovanni Vicidomini ... Mario Santini
    Published: October 30, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:343–354
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2020.00020
    View:2017
    Download:33
    Open Access
    Review
    Future directions and management of liquid biopsy in non-small cell lung cancer
    Lung cancer represents the world’s most common cause of cancer death. In recent years, we moved from a generic therapeutic strategy to a personalized approach, based on the molecular char [...] Read more.
    Alessia Maria Cossu ... Marco Bocchetti
    Published: August 31, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:239–252
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2020.00015
    View:2649
    Download:59
    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
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2020.00016
    View:2440
    Download:81
    Open Access
    Review
    Role of liquid biopsy for thoracic cancers immunotherapy
    Immunotherapy has shifted the therapeutic landscape in thoracic cancers. However, assessment of biomarkers for patient selection and disease monitoring remain challenging, especially considering the [...] Read more.
    Raimondo Di Liello ... Paloma Martín-Martorell
    Published: June 29, 2020 Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2020;1:183–199
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.37349/etat.2020.00012
    View:3198
    Download:58