Current Status and Future Challenges of Liquid Biopsy—2nd Edition

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2027 | Viewed by 1181

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. School of Medicine, Kindai University, Osakasayama, Japan
2. Izumi City General Hospital, Izumi, Japan
Interests: minimal residual disease (MRD); surgical treatment for NSCLC; neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment; immunotherapy; molecular targeted therapy; EGFR mutation; biomarker analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Medicine, Kindai University, Osakasayama, Japan
Interests: minimal residual disease (MRD); surgical treatment for NSCLC; biomarker analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Clinical testing using liquid biopsy technology has been widely used in clinical practice for treating cancer patients, and the scope of its use is further expanding. Liquid biopsy is useful for detecting genetic aberrations and/or tumor mutation burden as a less invasive alternative to tissue biopsy. In addition, liquid biopsy has gained significant attention as a promising tool for minimal residual disease (MRD) detection after curative-intent treatment.

In this Special Issue, we will publish current status, limitations, technological developments, and future perspectives related to liquid biopsy for cancer patients from various perspectives, including basic research, translational data, clinical observations and clinical trials, as well as comprehensive reviews that focus on liquid biopsy. Educational case series related to liquid biopsy are also welcome.

This Special Issue will cover all aspects of studies related to liquid biopsy for cancer patients, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating cell-free RNA, extracellular vesicles, and tumor-educated platelet (TEP). We invite all scientists working in the field of liquid biopsy to participate in this Special Issue.

Dr. Kenichi Suda
Dr. Shuta Ohara
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • minimal residual disease (MRD)
  • ctDNA
  • cfDNA
  • heterogeneity
  • comprehensive genomic profiling
  • biomarker
  • diagnosis
  • personalization
  • prognostic marker

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 3244 KB  
Article
Longitudinal Detection of Tumor-Specific Peptides in Cerebrospinal Fluid for Pediatric Brain Tumor Surveillance
by Kelsi M. Chesney, Jeffrey R. Whiteaker, Brian Hood, Ming Zhou, Huizen Zhang, Samuel Rivero-Hinojosa, Amanda G. Paulovich, Thomas P. Conrads and Brian R. Rood
Cells 2026, 15(5), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15050474 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 656
Abstract
Pediatric brain tumor survivors remain at high risk of recurrence, yet current surveillance strategies relying on neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology have limited sensitivity for early or minimal disease. Tumor-specific peptides (TSPs) derived from individual tumors represent a promising class of highly [...] Read more.
Pediatric brain tumor survivors remain at high risk of recurrence, yet current surveillance strategies relying on neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology have limited sensitivity for early or minimal disease. Tumor-specific peptides (TSPs) derived from individual tumors represent a promising class of highly specific biomarkers for longitudinal disease monitoring through CSF-based proteomic analysis. In this study, tumor tissue and serial CSF samples from six pediatric brain tumor patients (five medulloblastomas and one atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (ATRT)) were analyzed using an integrated proteogenomic workflow combining discovery and targeted mass spectrometry. TSPs were identified from resected tumor tissue and matched against shotgun CSF proteomic datasets to nominate candidate biomarkers. High-confidence peptides were synthesized as isotopically labeled standards and quantified longitudinally using targeted multiple reaction monitoring. Two TSP biomarkers derived from individualized pediatric brain tumors (one medulloblastoma and one ATRT) demonstrated robust detection in serial CSF samples and exhibited temporal concordance with radiographic disease course, declining with treatment response and increasing during disease progression. These findings establish the feasibility of detecting and longitudinally quantifying TSPs in CSF and support further investigation of individualized proteomic biomarkers for treatment response monitoring and disease surveillance in pediatric brain tumors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status and Future Challenges of Liquid Biopsy—2nd Edition)
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