The Exploration and Clinical Implications of Using Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Detection

Abstract

Cancer is a disease the humans has been trying to eradicate for hundred of years. This disease, caused by the abnormal replication of various cells in our body, can cause a multitude of complications ranging anywhere from hormone imbalances all the way to physical obstructions of organs and organ systems. As technology begins to advance and the methods which determine how we detect, treat, and prevent cancer advance with it, it becomes possible to specify what kind of tumor the screening is being done for (benign versus cancerous) and the specific type of tumor it is in relation to its location and stage of maturation. One of the techniques which is making this degree of specificity possible is liquid biopsy which, if perfected, will provide a number of other innovate benefits for patients looking for tumor biopsies, specifically within the context of pancreatic cancer. If liquid biopsy were able to be used reliably in a clinical setting, patients would no longer have to undergo invasive procedures like surgical biopsy, and their progress through treatment would be more closely monitored and more accurate than ever before.