Emerging Trends in Liquid Biopsies for Clinical Diagnostics: Bench-to-Bedside Translation

Non-invasive modes of molecular detection have been recently emerging for effective diagnosis and prognosis (including for screening and surveillance) and therapeutics (including targeted delivery and personalized medicine). As a consequence, the application of liquid biopsy has become central to many aspects of clinical diagnostics, especially for areas pertaining to infectious diseases and cancer. The analysis of liquid biopsies y now has significant potential impact in revolutionizing many aspects of healthcare practices. The field is highly inter-disciplinary and evolving, integrating subjects that include molecular oncology, diagnostics, microbiology, cell and tumor biology and biochemistry, for example, with a particular relevance to lab-on-a-chip technologies.

Liquid biopsy strategies pose various issues ranging from sample availability and sample processing including enrichment. Selective isolation protocols, followed by accurate detection and quantification for precision- as well as differential-diagnostics become the need-of-the-hour for effective bench-to-bedside translation strategies involving cell-free DNA, cell-free RNA, circulating tumor cells, tumor-derived extracellular vesicles, small-RNAs and micro-RNAs and other liquid biopsy-derived entities. A robust diagnostic roadmap, interfacing the sample types and characteristics with the optimized bioassays and readout platforms, is the key towards positioning the applications of liquid biopsy in clinical diagnostics. The current Research Topic aims to cover the unaddressed gaps in the aforementioned domains that would enable precise and rapid diagnostics based on liquid biopsy for clinical applications in a variety of diseases, and in particular, highlight the advancements in lab-on-a-chip technologies pertaining to Liquid Biopsy-based Diagnostics.

We welcome submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Reviews, Perspective and Opinion Articles on the following themes including, but not limited to:

• Biomarkers/ Bioanalytes in Liquid Biopsy – types, biology, diagnostic potential

• Samples in Liquid Biopsy – collection, isolation and enrichment

• Bioassay development and readout platforms for Liquid Biopsy-based Diagnostics.

• Interfacing strategies, including biosensors and microfluidics, for Liquid Biopsy-based Diagnostics.

• Lab-on-a-chip and point-of-care technologies for Liquid Biopsy-based Diagnostics.

• Integrated sensing approaches leveraging sensitivity, specificity, multiplexing and high-throughput for Liquid Biopsy-based Diagnostics.

• Real-time Liquid Biopsy monitoring in molecular diagnostics and targeted therapeutics

• Bioanalytics, Multi-Omics and Informatics for integrated Liquid Biopsy-based Diagnostics in clinical settings

• Emerging lab-on-a-chip micro- and nano-technologies for Liquid Biopsy-based Diagnostics.

Keywords: Liquid Biopsy, cell-free DNA, circulating tumor cells, exosomes, diagnostics

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.