What Are Liquid Biopsies and How Do They Help With Cancer Treatment?

When the word "cancer" is mentioned in a conversation, it is almost always followed by the mention of a biopsy. Tumour or tissue biopsies are used in the early stages of malignancy investigation. When a patient exhibits related symptoms and/or has a suspicious-looking lump, it's the first thing a doctor would recommend. A tissue biopsy is the removal of cells from a tumour for further testing. Careful examination of tissue biopsy samples with the aid of molecular diagnostics determines the presence of malignancy, allowing doctors to provide better diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment decisions.

Depending on where the tumour is located, the biopsy may require a surgical intervention or procedure that is invasive, risky, painful, expensive, and time-consuming. If the tumour is inaccessible, the diagnosis will be delayed or incorrect. If the patient has other health issues, additional complications may prevent the need for repeated biopsies.

However, while tumour biopsies remain the gold standard for cancer diagnosis and treatment, researchers are now investigating a new approach known as "Liquid biopsy."

Helvetica Health Care (HHC) explains what a liquid biopsy is and how this new approach can potentially supplement or even replace traditional forms of cancer testing in this article.

Before we get into the details of this concept, let's go over what we do. As a global provider of health products and services, HHC offers a variety of clinical/biological samples with required characterisation, as well as unique materials such as POSITIVE HUMAN BLOOD, PLASMA, SERUM, and animal material, as well as BIOPSY SAMPLES.

Despite the fact that we are based in Geneva, Switzerland, our contacts allow us to source materials from over 50 countries around the world and provide access to a network of clinical laboratories, transfusion and reference centres, and pathology labs. Furthermore, we provide a prospective sample collection based on the parameters and specifications required, and we have access to large volumes of high-grade Human Serum (pooled or individual), as well as negative plasma in EDTA or Citrate.

What Are Liquid Biopsies?

Liquid biopsies, as the name implies, are tests that can detect cancer cells and DNA in bodily fluids. With just blood, urine, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, or even saliva samples, doctors can learn a lot about a cancerous tumour. As a result, these tests are less invasive, simpler, tolerable, convenient, and repeatable.

A liquid biopsy requires only 5 millilitres of blood, making the procedure faster and more tolerable than a surgical biopsy. The collected fluid or blood sample is'spun down' to extract 2 millilitres of blood plasma, which is then used to analyse tumour DNA. Early studies on liquid biopsies focused primarily on lung, breast, and prostate cancers, but this technology is expected to impact all types of cancer in the near future.

What Makes Liquid Biopsies Important in Cancer Treatments?

Before discussing the significance of liquid biopsies, it is critical to mention the role of blood plasma samples in cancer blood tests. A brief explanation of blood plasma will help you understand its significance in clinical research.

What Is Blood Plasma?

Blood plasma is the yellowish liquid component of blood that remains after the removal of the blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets). It makes up about 55% of total blood volume and is made up of water, electrolytes, hormones, waste products, and proteins. Antibodies, which play an important role in immune responses, are one of the key proteins found in plasma.

How Does Blood Plasma Help Cancer Patients?

Blood plasma is essential for cancer patients in a variety of ways. For starters, it is used to diagnose cancer through various blood tests, including tumour marker measurement. Second, plasma proteins like albumin and immunoglobulins are essential for maintaining a patient's overall health and immune system function during cancer treatment. Finally, plasma-derived products can be used to treat cancer-related complications such as anaemia and low platelet counts.

Please see our previous article for more information on the functions of blood plasma and serum.

Let's get started on liquid biopsies and their significance in cancer treatment.

Tracing Tumour DNA in Blood Aids in Cancer Detection

Biofluids, which are circulating and easily accessible sources of biomarkers, are used in liquid biopsies. Cell-free and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) are the biomarkers in question. These tests, according to experts, scientists, and oncologists, integrate tumour genetics with ctDNA analysis in a way that solid samples cannot.

Expert tumour biologists believe that examining a microscopic tumour sample does not always provide an accurate picture of the extent of cancer. This limitation prevents medical professionals from comprehending disease progression, genetic mutations, and metastases. Liquid biopsies involve the extraction of DNA from all cells, including those with genetic mutations and metastases that the doctor may be unaware of, resulting in a much more complete picture of the disease.

Different Types Of Liquid Biopsies To Test Different Tumours

Liquid biopsies are versatile in the sense that different tests can analyse different types of tumour material, such as DNA, proteins, RNA, whole cells, etc. Different tumour molecules can be detected in various bodily fluids. As these fluids are readily accessible, collecting a sample is minimally invasive, and the test can be repeated more quickly than a tissue biopsy.

Tumour Dna Tracing Enables Early Cancer Detection And More Targeted Treatment Decisions.

One of the main benefits of liquid biopsy is its ability to detect malignancies early. Studies show that, in some cases, tumour DNA traces from the blood samples of patients help detect cancer well before a diagnosis is confirmed using conventional methods such as imaging tests.

By studying traces of cancer’s DNA in the biofluids, oncologists can plan more targeted treatments for patients as they have a better understanding of disease progression or treatment resistance in terms of whether the patient is responding to the drug well globally or if the treatment is helping to shrink the tumours or even eliminate them.

To know how HHC helps labs across continents in developing better solutions for public health improvement, call us now!