Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Theranostics. 2020 Jun 22;10(17):7872-7888. doi: 10.7150/thno.44634. eCollection 2020.
Since the discovery of circulating tumor cells in 1869, technological advances in the study of biomarkers from liquid biopsy have made it possible to diagnose disease in a less invasive way. Although blood-based liquid biopsy has been used extensively for the detection of solid tumors and immune diseases, the potential of urine-based liquid biopsy has not been fully explored. Advancements in technologies for the harvesting and analysis of biomarkers are providing new opportunities for the characterization of other disease types. Liquid biopsy markers such as exfoliated bladder cancer cells, cell-free DNA (cfDNA), and exosomes have the potential to change the nature of disease management and care, as they allow a cost-effective and convenient mode of patient monitoring throughout treatment. In this review, we addressed the advancement of research in the field of disease detection for the key liquid biopsy markers such as cancer cells, cfDNA, and exosomes, with an emphasis on urine-based liquid biopsy. First, we highlighted key technologies that were widely available and used extensively for clinical urine sample analysis. Next, we presented recent technological developments in cell and genetic research, with implications for the detection of other types of diseases, besides cancer. We then concluded with some discussions on these areas, emphasizing the role of microfluidics and artificial intelligence in advancing point-of-care applications. We believe that the benefits of urine biopsy provide diagnostic development potential, which will pave opportunities for new ways to guide treatment selections and facilitate precision disease therapies.
自 1869 年发现循环肿瘤细胞以来，液体活检中生物标志物研究的技术进步使得以非侵入性方式诊断疾病成为可能。虽然基于血液的液体活检已广泛用于检测实体瘤和免疫疾病，但基于尿液的液体活检的潜力尚未得到充分探索。生物标志物采集和分析技术的进步为其他疾病类型的特征提供了新的机会。液体活检标志物，如膀胱癌脱落细胞、无细胞 DNA（cfDNA）和外泌体，有可能改变疾病管理和护理的性质，因为它们允许在整个治疗过程中以具有成本效益且方便的方式对患者进行监测。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了疾病检测领域的研究进展，重点是关键的液体活检标志物，如癌细胞、cfDNA 和外泌体，并强调了基于尿液的液体活检。首先，我们强调了广泛可用且广泛用于临床尿液样本分析的关键技术。接下来，我们介绍了细胞和遗传研究方面的最新技术进展，这些进展对除癌症以外的其他类型疾病的检测具有重要意义。然后，我们对这些领域进行了讨论，强调了微流控和人工智能在推进即时护理应用方面的作用。我们相信，尿液活检的优势提供了诊断发展的潜力，这将为新的治疗方法提供机会，以指导治疗选择并促进精准疾病治疗。
