Clinical Application of Liquid Biopsy in Solid Tumor HCC: Prognostic, Diagnostic and Therapy Monitoring Tool

The idea of using liquid biopsy in the field of oncology is relatively new. Its significant advancement and revolutionized diagnosis and therapy monitoring in cancer research is strengthening the field of precision medicine. Liquid biopsy is a noninvasive method of isolation and detection of circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and exosome depict the exact picture of early stage cancer genomics and proteomics. The techniques like digital PCR, CAPPSEQ, BEAMing and next generation sequencing contributed to utilize liquid biopsy in clinical settings. It can facilitate cancer prognosis and early stage detection before metastasis. Importantly, it can help in finding responders and non-responders, devising treatement plan and screening of new drugs. In this chapter, the clinical application of liquid biopsy in solid tumor management with focus on Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is discussed. Besides the advancement in diagnostics and treatment of HCC, the prognosis is still poor with a high rate of mortality. Liquid biopsy has the potential for better diagnosis and monitoring of HCC in patients. We have also summarized different advanced diagnostic techniques for the isolation and enrichment of circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and exosome. Moreover, the limitation of the use of liquid biopsy in the healthcare system is also the point of discussion.

Keywords: Circulating tumor cells, Circulating tumor DNA, Diagnosis, Exosomes, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Liquid biopsy, Prognosis.