Liquid Biomarkers in Melanoma: Detection and Discovery

Overview

Journal Mol Cancer

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Molecular Biology
Oncology

Date 2018 Jan 19

PMID 29343260

Citations 45

Authors

Su Yin Lim

Jenny H Lee

Russell J Diefenbach

Richard F Kefford

Helen Rizos

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A vast array of tumor-derived genetic, proteomic and cellular components are constantly released into the circulation of cancer patients. These molecules including circulating tumor DNA and RNA, proteins, tumor and immune cells are emerging as convenient and accurate liquid biomarkers of cancer. Circulating cancer biomarkers provide invaluable information on cancer detection and diagnosis, prognosticate patient outcomes, and predict treatment response. In this era of effective molecular targeted treatments and immunotherapies, there is now an urgent need to implement use of these circulating biomarkers in the clinic to facilitate personalized therapy. In this review, we present recent findings in circulating melanoma biomarkers, examine the challenges and promise of evolving technologies used for liquid biomarker discovery, and discuss future directions and perspectives in melanoma biomarker research.

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