Emerging biomarkers for non-invasive cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Abstract

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the world, killing more than 10 million people every year. Early diagnosis greatly enhances patient outcomes; yet, conventional diagnostic methods, including imaging and invasive tissue biopsy, have substantial challenges, such as procedural risks, sampling bias, and the inability to monitor temporal fluctuations. This chapter examines novel non-invasive biomarkers identified using liquid biopsy, a technique that detects tumor-derived compounds in blood and other body fluids. In this chapter, we focuses on circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells, exosomes, DNA methylation patterns, metabolomic profiles, and proteomic panels as innovative biomarkers that enhance cancer diagnosis and advance the precision oncology approach.