Abstract
Approximately 19% of all cancer-related deaths are due to lung cancer, which is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) affects approximately 15% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer. SCLC is characterized by aggressiveness; the majority of SCLC patients present with metastatic disease, and less than 5% of patients are alive at 5 years. The gold standard of SCLC treatment is platinum and etoposide-based chemotherapy; however, its effects are short. In recent years, treatment for SCLC has changed; new drugs have been approved, and new biomarkers are needed for treatment selection. Liquid biopsy is a non-invasive, rapid, repeated and alternative tool to the traditional tumor biopsy that could allow the most personalized medicine into the management of SCLC patients. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are the most commonly used liquid biopsy biomarkers. Some studies have reported the prognostic factors of CTCs and cfDNA in SCLC patients, independent of the stage. In this review, we summarize the recent SCLC studies of CTCs, cfDNA and other liquid biopsy biomarkers, and we discuss the future utility of liquid biopsy in the clinical management of SCLC.
Highlights
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 15% of all lung cancers diagnosed worldwide and up to 25% of lung cancer deaths [1]
SCLC is classified into two stages: limited disease (LD-SCLC), when it is confined to a hemithorax, where curative treatment with radiochemotherapy is feasible; or extensive disease (ED-SCLC), defined as the presence of metastatic disease outside the hemithorax at first diagnosis [2]
Principally circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free DNA, has the potential to improve the management of SCLC at different levels: screening, minimal residual disease detection, monitoring systemic treatment initiation and response and determining the development of resistance
Summary
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 15% of all lung cancers diagnosed worldwide and up to 25% of lung cancer deaths [1]. Principally circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA), has the potential to improve the management of SCLC at different levels: screening, minimal residual disease detection, monitoring systemic treatment initiation and response and determining the development of resistance. These techniques generate promising data to better understand SCLC biology and guide patient treatment [3]. Biomedicines 2021, 9, 48 on the current and future clinical utility of liquid biopsies, which represent a key factor in improving outcomes for patients with SCLC
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