Metastatic Melanoma: Liquid Biopsy As a New Precision Medicine Approach

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2023 Feb 25

PMID 36835424

Authors

Elena Ricciardi

Elena Giordani

Giovanna Ziccheddu

Italia Falcone

Patrizio Giacomini

Maurizio Fanciulli

Michelangelo Russillo

Marianna Cerro

Gennaro Ciliberto

Aldo Morrone

Antonino Guerrisi

Fabio Valenti

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Precision medicine has driven a major change in the treatment of many forms of cancer. The discovery that each patient is different and each tumor mass has its own characteristics has shifted the focus of basic and clinical research to the singular individual. Liquid biopsy (LB), in this sense, presents new scenarios in personalized medicine through the study of molecules, factors, and tumor biomarkers in blood such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), exosomes and circulating tumor microRNAs (ct-miRNAs). Moreover, its easy application and complete absence of contraindications for the patient make this method applicable in a great many fields. Melanoma, given its highly heterogeneous characteristics, is a cancer form that could significantly benefit from the information linked to liquid biopsy, especially in the treatment management. In this review, we will focus our attention on the latest applications of liquid biopsy in metastatic melanoma and possible developments in the clinical setting.

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