Real-Time Monitoring for Improving Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis

Dear Colleagues,

For deadly cancers, which are difficult to successfully treat after tumor metastasis, identification of useful prognostic and predictive biomarkers for informing clinicians early during treatment of the need to revise treatments for patients is expected to improve treatment outcomes. Real- time monitoring of cancers during treatment will allow early detection of minimal residual disease and the presence of tumor heterogeneity, which need to be addressed for successful long-term treatment success. Liquid biopsies allow non-invasive serial timepoint assessment of a patient’s treatment status. Detection of circulating tumor DNA and circulating tumor cells are now reported for different cancers that herald their usefulness in cancer screening and treatment decisions. Detection of key drug-targetable mutations early during the progression of the cancer can provide better alternatives for patient treatment. This Special Issue highlights recent approaches for addressing improving patient outcomes via real-time monitoring of cancer patients during therapy to identify earlier timepoints for clinical decisions on long-term treatment.

Prof. Dr. Maria Li Lung
Dr. Josephine Ko
Topic Editors