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Huang X, Duijf PHG, Sriram S, Perera G, Vasani S, Kenny L, Leo P, Punyadeera C. Circulating tumour DNA alterations: emerging biomarker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. J Biomed Sci 2023; 30:65. [PMID: 37559138 PMCID: PMC10413618 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-023-00953-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Head and Neck cancers (HNC) are a heterogeneous group of upper aero-digestive tract cancer and account for 931,922 new cases and 467,125 deaths worldwide. About 90% of these cancers are of squamous cell origin (HNSCC). HNSCC is associated with excessive tobacco and alcohol consumption and infection with oncogenic viruses. Genotyping tumour tissue to guide clinical decision-making is becoming common practice in modern oncology, but in the management of patients with HNSCC, cytopathology or histopathology of tumour tissue remains the mainstream for diagnosis and treatment planning. Due to tumour heterogeneity and the lack of access to tumour due to its anatomical location, alternative methods to evaluate tumour activities are urgently needed. Liquid biopsy approaches can overcome issues such as tumour heterogeneity, which is associated with the analysis of small tissue biopsy. In addition, liquid biopsy offers repeat biopsy sampling, even for patients with tumours with access limitations. Liquid biopsy refers to biomarkers found in body fluids, traditionally blood, that can be sampled to provide clinically valuable information on both the patient and their underlying malignancy. To date, the majority of liquid biopsy research has focused on blood-based biomarkers, such as circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumour cells (CTCs), and circulating microRNA. In this review, we will focus on ctDNA as a biomarker in HNSCC because of its robustness, its presence in many body fluids, adaptability to existing clinical laboratory-based technology platforms, and ease of collection and transportation. We will discuss mechanisms of ctDNA release into circulation, technological advances in the analysis of ctDNA, ctDNA as a biomarker in HNSCC management, and some of the challenges associated with translating ctDNA into clinical and future perspectives. ctDNA provides a minimally invasive method for HNSCC prognosis and disease surveillance and will pave the way in the future for personalized medicine, thereby significantly improving outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomin Huang
- Saliva and Liquid Biopsy Translational Laboratory, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, QLD, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Pascal H G Duijf
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- University Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Sharath Sriram
- Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group and the Micro Nano Research Facility, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Ganganath Perera
- Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group and the Micro Nano Research Facility, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Sarju Vasani
- Department of Otolaryngology, Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- The School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Lizbeth Kenny
- The School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Paul Leo
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Australian Translational Genomics Centre, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Chamindie Punyadeera
- Saliva and Liquid Biopsy Translational Laboratory, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, QLD, Brisbane, Australia.
- Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MIHQ), Griffith University, Gold coast, QLD, Australia.
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