Unidad Monterrey, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (Cinvestav-IPN), Nuevo León, Mexico.
Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2020 Oct;65:37-44. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.11.022. Epub 2019 Dec 28.
Although not employed in the clinic as of yet, microfluidic systems are likely to become a key technology for cancer diagnostics and prognosis. Microfluidic devices have been developed for the analysis of various biomarkers including circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA, exosomes, and proteins, primarily in liquid biopsies such as serum, plasma, and whole blood, avoiding the need for tumor tissue biopsies. Here, we summarize microfluidic technological advances that are used in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and to monitor its progression and recurrence, that will likely lead to personalized therapies. In some cases, integrated microfluidic technologies, coupled with biosensors, are proving to be more sensitive and precise in the detection of cancer biomarkers than conventional assays. Based on the current state-of-the-art and the rapid progress over the past decade, we also briefly discuss the next evolutionary steps that these technologies are likely to take.
尽管微流控系统尚未在临床中应用，但它有可能成为癌症诊断和预后的关键技术。已经开发出微流控设备来分析各种生物标志物，包括循环肿瘤细胞、无细胞 DNA、外泌体和蛋白质，主要是在液体活检样本（如血清、血浆和全血）中，避免了肿瘤组织活检的需要。在这里，我们总结了用于癌症诊断、预后以及监测其进展和复发的微流控技术进步，这些技术有望导致个性化治疗。在某些情况下，集成微流控技术与生物传感器相结合，在检测癌症生物标志物方面比传统检测方法更灵敏、更精确。基于目前的最新技术和过去十年的快速发展，我们还简要讨论了这些技术可能采取的下一步发展步骤。
