Clinical Significance of cfRNAs as Tumor Biomarkers

Dear Colleagues,

The investigation of cfRNA in plasma to monitor disease is a rapidly growing area of diagnostic research. Circulating cfRNA in the blood is released from cells by active secretion, or through apoptosis or necrosis. cfRNA presents an opportunity to detect cancer in patients with low tumor-shedding rates, as the overexpression of tumor-specific transcripts could lead to the amplification of tumor-derived RNAs in the blood. Increasing evidence shows that long RNA species, including messenger RNA (mRNA), circular RNA (circRNA), and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA), are also found in human blood and have functional and clinical implications. 

Within this context, this Special Issue aims to advance the emerging standpoint on the importance of holistic knowledge of cfRNA as a tumor biomarker. Therefore, authors are invited to submit original research and review papers that are focused on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• The clinical scope of cfRNA as a biomarker;
• Preanalytical optimization, standardization, and quality control;
• Exciting applications of cfRNA analysis in oncology;
• The use of cfRNA as a tool for early cancer detection;
• Monitoring minimal residual disease in cancer by using cfRNA biomarkers;
• Comparative analysis of methods and technologies for the detection of cfRNA;
• Enrichment strategies for circulating tumor cfRNA (extraction methods);
• The use of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to investigate the vast diversity of RNA species.

Dr. Athina N. Markou
Guest Editor

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