Liquid Biopsies in the Clinical Management of Germ Cell Tumor Patients: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions

• Main Author: Lobo, João
• Publication Date: 2021
• Other Authors: Leão, Ricardo, Jerónimo, Carmen, Henriques, Rui T.
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/104755; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22052654
• topic: germ cell tumors; liquid biopsies; microRNAs; DNA methylation; circulating tumor cells; biomarkers; diagnosis; follow-up; serum tumor markers; Biomarkers, Tumor; Critical Pathways; DNA, Neoplasm; Disease Management; Female; Humans; Male; MicroRNAs; Neoplasm Proteins; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; Ovarian Neoplasms; RNA, Neoplasm; Testicular Neoplasms; Liquid Biopsy

Liquid biopsies constitute a minimally invasive means of managing cancer patients, entailing early diagnosis, follow-up and prediction of response to therapy. Their use in the germ cell tumor field is invaluable since diagnostic tissue biopsies (which are invasive) are often not performed, and therefore only a presumptive diagnosis can be made, confirmed upon examination of the surgical specimen. Herein, we provide an overall review of the current liquid biopsy-based biomarkers of this disease, including the classical, routinely used serum tumor markers-the promising microRNAs rapidly approaching the introduction into clinical practice-but also cell-free DNA markers (including DNA methylation) and circulating tumor cells. Finally, and importantly, we also explore novel strategies and challenges for liquid biopsy markers and methodologies, providing a critical view of the future directions for liquid biopsy tests in this field, highlighting gaps and unanswered questions.