Imaging and Liquid Biopsy for Distinguishing True Progression From Pseudoprogression in Gliomas, Current Advances and Challenges

Liquid Biopsy-Derived Tumor Biomarkers for Clinical Applications in Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults, characterized by rapid growth and resistance to chemotherapy. Conventional treatments remain largely ineffective, with patient survival averaging around 18 months after diagnosis. Current diagnostic methods rely on invasive tissue biopsies and imaging tests. While traditional biopsies involve extracting tissue samples, their routine use is often limited by surgical risks and the challenge of accessing sensitive brain regions. Liquid biopsy has emerged as a promising noninvasive alternative, analyzing circulating tumor components-such as DNA, RNA, extracellular vesicles, and microRNAs-found in body fluids. This approach enables initial diagnosis and continuous disease monitoring, offering a significant advantage over traditional biopsies, which are impractical for frequent repetition during treatment follow-up. This review highlights recent advances in liquid biopsy-derived biomarkers for the clinical management of GBM. The discussion includes the advantages, limitations, and potential of these biomarkers as tools for early diagnosis and disease monitoring. A narrative review of the literature published over the last decade (2014-2024) was conducted using major health-focused scientific databases. The analysis focuses on evaluating the clinical relevance and applicability of liquid biopsy in GBM, offering insights into its potential as a minimally invasive and effective tool for improving glioblastoma management.

The Potential of cfDNA as Biomarker: Opportunities and Challenges for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), are characterized by the progressive and gradual degeneration of neurons. The prevalence and rates of these disorders rise significantly with age. As life spans continue to increase in many countries, the number of cases is expected to grow in the foreseeable future. Early and precise diagnosis, along with appropriate surveillance, continues to pose a challenge. The high heterogeneity of neurodegenerative diseases calls for more accurate and definitive biomarkers to improve clinical therapy. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA), including fragmented DNA released into bodily fluids via apoptosis, necrosis, or active secretion, has emerged as a promising non-invasive diagnostic tool for various disorders including neurodegenerative diseases. cfDNA can serve as an indicator of ongoing cellular damage and mortality, including neuronal loss, and may provide valuable insights into disease processes, progression, and therapeutic responses. This review will first cover the key aspects of cfDNA and then examine recent advances in its potential use as a biomarker for neurodegenerative disorders.

Liquid biopsy in cancer current: status, challenges and future prospects

Cancer has a high mortality rate across the globe, and tissue biopsy remains the gold standard for tumor diagnosis due to its high level of laboratory standardization, good consistency of results, relatively stable samples, and high accuracy of results. However, there are still many limitations and drawbacks in the application of tissue biopsy in tumor. The emergence of liquid biopsy provides new ideas for early diagnosis and prognosis of tumor. Compared with tissue biopsy, liquid biopsy has many advantages in the diagnosis and treatment of various types of cancer, including non-invasive, quickly and so on. Currently, the application of liquid biopsy in tumor detection has received widely attention. It is now undergoing rapid progress, and it holds significant potential for future applications. Around now, liquid biopsies encompass several components such as circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA, exosomes, microRNA, circulating RNA, tumor platelets, and tumor endothelial cells. In addition, advances in the identification of liquid biopsy indicators have significantly enhanced the possibility of utilizing liquid biopsies in clinical settings. In this review, we will discuss the application, advantages and challenges of liquid biopsy in some common tumors from the perspective of diverse systems of tumors, and look forward to its future development prospects in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment.