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Liquid Biopsy in Precision Oncology

Edited by:
Professor Klaus Pantel, MD, PhD, Department of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; European Liquid Biopsy Society, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
Claudia Koch, PhD, European Liquid Biopsy Society, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
Professor Gennaro Ciliberto, MD, PhD, Scientific Director, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Italy
Alice Castelli, PhD, Managing Editor Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Italy

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 31 January 2025 

Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research is calling for submissions to our Collection on 'Liquid Biopsy in Precision Oncology.' In this special issue, we will attempt to provide an overview of the current LB field in precision oncology, including innovative research and clinical applications. We will focus on the clinical implementation of research discoveries in line with the aims of the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) consortium (www.elbs.eu).

About the Collection

Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research is calling for submissions to our Collection on 'Liquid Biopsy in Precision Oncology.'

The concept of “liquid biopsy”, meaning the detection of tumor-relevant information from bodily liquids, has become a promising approach in personalized medicine. The term of “liquid biopsy” (LB) has quickly extended from the analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to various biomarkers (e.g. ctDNA, extracellular vesicles, tumor-informed platelets, and proteins) in blood as well as additional bodily fluids such as cerebral-spinal-fluid (CSF), liquor, urine, sputum, and saliva [1, 2]. Liquid biopsy applications are currently most advanced in the oncological setting [3, 4]. Despite clear advances, a multitude of promising research publications and clinical study data, as well as positive recommendations by leading oncological societies [5], the practical use of LB approaches is still limited mostly to clinical trials [6-9] and a small number of assays approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). 

In this Collection, we will attempt to provide an overview of the current LB field in precision oncology, including innovative research and clinical applications. We will focus on the clinical implementation of research discoveries in line with the aims of the European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS) consortium (www.elbs.eu). In particular, we will identify the challenges of LB-implementation into clinical trials and practice, taking all stakeholder´s perspectives into account.  This is an important step to ensure that liquid biopsy tests soon become part of clinical routine to benefit cancer patients worldwide, which is at the core of all ELBS initiatives and activities. 

1. Pantel, K. and C. Alix-Panabieres, Circulating tumour cells in cancer patients: challenges and perspectives. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 2010. 16(9): p. 398-406.
2. Alix-Panabieres, C. and K. Pantel, Liquid Biopsy: From Discovery to Clinical Application. Cancer Discov, 2021. 11(4): p. 858-873.
3. Heitzer, E., et al., Current and future perspectives of liquid biopsies in genomics-driven oncology. Nat Rev Genet, 2019. 20(2): p. 71-88.
4. Pantel, K. and C. Alix-Panabieres, Liquid biopsy and minimal residual disease - latest advances and implications for cure. Nat Rev Clin Oncol, 2019.
5. Pascual, J., et al., ESMO recommendations on the use of circulating tumour DNA assays for patients with cancer: a report from the ESMO Precision Medicine Working Group. Ann Oncol, 2022. 33(8): p. 750-768.
6. de Bono, J., et al., Olaparib for Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. N Engl J Med, 2020. 382(22): p. 2091-2102.
7. Nors, J., et al., Incidence of Recurrence and Time to Recurrence in Stage I to III Colorectal Cancer: A Nationwide Danish Cohort Study. JAMA Oncol, 2023.
8. Bidard, F.C., et al., Overall Survival With Circulating Tumor Cell Count-Driven Choice of Therapy in Advanced Breast Cancer: A Randomized Trial. J Clin Oncol, 2023: p. JCO2300456.
9. Cisneros-Villanueva, M., et al., Cell-free DNA analysis in current cancer clinical trials: a review. Br J Cancer, 2022. 126(3): p. 391-400.

Keywords: Liquid Biopsy, Circulating tumor cells, Circulating nucleic acids, Extracellular vesicles, Platelets.

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Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research articles and Reviews. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Editorial Manager. Please select the appropriate Collection title “Liquid Biopsy in Precision Oncology" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer-review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.