1 Center for Oral/Head and Neck Oncology Research, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
2 Division of Oral Biology and Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
J Dent Res. 2018 Jun;97(6):701-708. doi: 10.1177/0022034518762071. Epub 2018 Mar 7.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. It remains one of the leading causes of death, and its early detection is crucial. Liquid biopsy has emerged as a promising tool for detecting and monitoring the disease status of patients with early and advanced cancers. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and exosomal miRNAs have received enormous attention because of their apparent clinical implications. Analyses of these circulating biomarkers have paved the way for novel therapeutic approaches and precision medicine. A growing number of reports have implicated the use of circulating biomarkers for detection, treatment planning, response monitoring, and prognosis assessment. Although these new biomarkers can provide a wide range of possible clinical applications, no validated circulating biomarkers have yet been integrated into clinical practice for head and neck cancer. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of circulating biomarkers in this field, focusing on their feasibility, limitations, and key areas of clinical applications. We also highlight recent advances in salivary diagnostics and their potential application in head and neck cancer.
头颈部癌症是全球第六大常见癌症。它仍然是导致死亡的主要原因之一，早期发现至关重要。液体活检已成为检测和监测早期和晚期癌症患者疾病状态的有前途的工具。由于其明显的临床意义，循环肿瘤 DNA (ctDNA)、循环肿瘤细胞 (CTC) 和外泌体 miRNA 受到了极大关注。这些循环生物标志物的分析为新的治疗方法和精准医学铺平了道路。越来越多的报告表明，使用循环生物标志物进行检测、治疗计划、反应监测和预后评估。尽管这些新的生物标志物可以提供广泛的可能的临床应用，但尚未有经过验证的循环生物标志物整合到头颈部癌症的临床实践中。在这篇综述中，我们总结了该领域中循环生物标志物的现有知识，重点介绍了它们的可行性、局限性和关键临床应用领域。我们还强调了唾液诊断学的最新进展及其在头颈部癌症中的潜在应用。
