Cancer is still among the most dangerous diseases globally. Yet, diagnosing it in its early stage greatly enhances patients’ outcomes. Early diagnosis does not only prolong survival but reduces the cost of treatment and benefits the quality of life. Cancer screening in its earlier stages prevents the spread of the disease to another part of the body and enables it to become more manageable to treat with less aggressive treatments such as immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and active surveillance.
Compared to the traditional treatments, such as surgery and chemotherapy, these options minimize side effects and maximize the patient’s quality of life. Keeping this in view, the emergence of a liquid biopsy as a screening medium provides new hope for cancer patients.
Liquid Biopsy: A Game-Changer in Cancer Screening
Old-fashioned biopsies involve taking tissue samples out to be analyzed, which can be painful and inconvenient. A liquid biopsy, in contrast, is a painless technique that finds biomarkers—biological warnings of disease—in the fluids in or around your body, such as blood, saliva, or urine. This technology enables physicians to identify cancer early, monitor how a patient is responding to treatment, and identify minimal residual disease—tiny hints of cancer remaining after treatment that may lead to a relapse.
Liquid biopsies search for numerous biomarkers. Some of the most important include circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), minute pieces of genetic material from tumor cells, and circulating tumor cells that detach from cancers and drift around in the bloodstream. These signs provide crucial pointers to the existence of cancer.
Other indicators are microRNAs, proteins, metabolites, extracellular vesicles, and exosomes—small particles that cells release with genetic information and proteins. From the analysis of these elements, physicians have an overall picture of the disease behavior and course.
FDA-Approved Tests and Current Trials
A number of liquid biopsy tests have already been approved by the FDA for clinical use. Some of the most notable include Guardant360 CDx, FoundationOne Liquid CDx, and the ExoDx Prostate Test. These tests are already having an impact on patient care by providing more convenient and less invasive screening.
Liquid biopsy technologies are also being improved through clinical trials. Scientists at the University of Queensland created a blood test to identify early-stage ovarian cancer with a 94% success rate and just 4% false positives. That is, the test hardly diagnoses healthy people as having cancer.
Another trial, the EXONERATE trial, is designed for metastatic colorectal cancer. It assesses how liquid biopsy is able to forecast treatment outcomes like progression-free survival and overall survival.
Saliva-Based Testing: A Pain-Free Option
Saliva-based liquid biopsies are becoming increasingly viable options for oral cavity, lung, head, and neck cancers. The tests examine tumor DNA, RNA, proteins, and exosomes in saliva, providing a pain-free and inexpensive alternative to conventional methods.
Scientists are researching gene mutations typically linked to cancer to make saliva-based tests more accurate. Such tests enable ongoing cancer monitoring and are likely to become more affordable as technology improves and prices drop.
AI Increases Accuracy and Personalisation
Artificial intelligence is responsible for enhancing the effectiveness of liquid biopsy. AI can minimize false positives and overdiagnosis risks, whereby non-hazardous cancers are unnecessarily detected. AI ensures more accurate detection of real threats by improving data analysis.
Liquid biopsy is also an essential tool in personalized medicine. This branch of medicine, or precision medicine, individualizes treatment regimens according to an individual’s own genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environment. Rather than using one-size-fits-all treatments, physicians utilize genetic data to develop more efficient therapies.
Targeted Therapies and Pharmacogenomics
In the treatment of cancer, genetic testing identifies the mutations associated with tumors such as breast and lung cancer. Physicians use this information to prescribe targeted medications that specifically target cancer cells, minimizing side effects and maximizing efficacy.
Pharmacogenomics is also part of personalised medicine, which studies how an individual’s genes influence his or her response to drugs. It assists physicians in selecting the best drugs while reducing the risk of side effects.
As genomics, AI, and molecular biology advance, personalised medicine is transforming healthcare. It provides real-time monitoring of cancer, informs treatment decisions, and enhances patient outcomes.
Who Should Get Cancer Screening?
While these advances in cancer screening are revolutionary, not everyone requires testing immediately. Screening depends on personal risk factors, medical history, and a physician’s recommendation.
One of the biggest problems with screening is false positives, where tests incorrectly signal cancer, causing undue stress and procedures. Another issue is overdiagnosis—some cancers develop so slowly that they never become a threat. This is particularly true for prostate and thyroid cancers, which are known to be indolent or slow-growing.
Most people don’t need cancer screening until their forties, as the risk of cancer increases with age. However, people with a family history of cancer or inherited genetic mutations should consider earlier or more frequent screenings.
Lifestyle habits also influence risk. Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, being overweight or obese, and physical inactivity enhance the risk of developing cancers such as lung, liver, breast, and colorectal cancer. Exposure to toxic chemicals or radiation, chronic diseases such as diabetes, and infections like HPV also increase risk.
For females, the risk of breast and endometrial cancer is increased by early menstruation, late menopause, and giving birth to children later in life. Prostate cancer occurs more commonly in men above 50 years old. Dietary factors, particularly a diet full of red meat and processed foods, can enhance the risk of colorectal cancer.