Global serum profiling: an opportunity for earlier cancer detection

J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Aug 15;42(1):207. doi: 10.1186/s13046-023-02786-y.

Abstract

The advances in cancer research achieved in the last 50 years have been remarkable and have provided a deeper knowledge of this disease in many of its conceptual and biochemical aspects. From viewing a tumor as a 'simple' aggregate of mutant cells and focusing on detecting key cell changes leading to the tumorigenesis, the understanding of cancer has broadened to consider it as a complex organ interacting with its close and far surroundings through tumor and non-tumor cells, metabolic mechanisms, and immune processes. Metabolism and the immune system have been linked to tumorigenesis and malignancy progression along with cancer-specific genetic mutations. However, most technologies developed to overcome the barriers to earlier detection are focused solely on genetic information. The concept of cancer as a complex organ has led to research on other analytical techniques, with the quest of finding a more sensitive and cost-effective comprehensive approach. Furthermore, artificial intelligence has gained broader consensus in the oncology community as a powerful tool with the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis for physicians. We herein explore the relevance of the concept of cancer as a complex organ interacting with the bodily surroundings, and focus on promising emerging technologies seeking to diagnose cancer earlier, such as liquid biopsies. We highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach to encompass all the tumor and non-tumor derived information salient to earlier cancer detection.

Keywords: Blood serum; Cancer detection; Diagnosis; Genetics; Immune system; Liquid biopsy; Metabolism; Pan-omics.; Spectroscopy; Tumorigenesis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Artificial Intelligence*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Carcinogenesis
  • Humans
  • Liquid Biopsy / methods
  • Medical Oncology
  • Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Neoplasms* / pathology

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor