Unlocking Precision Medicine: Liquid Biopsy Advancements in Renal Cancer Detection and Monitoring

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains a formidable diagnostic challenge, especially in the context of small renal masses. The quest for non-invasive screening tools and biomarkers has steered research towards liquid biopsy, focusing on microRNAs (miRNAs), exosomes, and circulating tumor cells (CTCs). MiRNAs, small non-coding RNAs, exhibit notable dysregulation in RCC, offering promising avenues for diagnosis and prognosis. Studies underscore their potential across various biofluids, including plasma, serum, and urine, for RCC detection and subtype characterization. Encouraging miRNA signatures show correlations with overall survival, indicative of their future relevance in RCC management. Exosomes, with their diverse molecular cargo, including miRNAs, emerge as enticing biomarkers, while CTCs, emanating from primary tumors into the bloodstream, provide valuable insights into cancer progression. Despite these advancements, clinical translation necessitates further validation and standardization, encompassing larger-scale studies and robust evidence generation. Currently lacking approved diagnostic assays for renal cancer, the potential future applications of liquid biopsy in follow-up care, treatment selection, and outcome prediction in RCC patients are profound. This review aims to discuss and highlight recent advancements in liquid biopsy for RCC, exploring their strengths and weaknesses in the comprehensive management of this disease.

Characterization of FOLH1 Expression in Renal Cell Carcinoma

“…Although the differential patterns of FOLH1 and PSMA expression across tumor subtypes of ovarian, cervical, breast, and colorectal cancer have been evaluated, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the comparative analysis of FOLH1 RNA among subtypes of RCC. In consideration of previous studies, highlighting the diagnostic potential of liquid biopsy biomarkers in RCC [33], the combination of tissue-based molecular profiling and liquid biopsy biomarkers could be considered a promising future direction for achieving more precise diagnostics in RCC. Our study was restricted to the molecular analysis of tissue alone, which is a limitation, as additional novel blood-, imaging-, and pathology-based biomarkers, some of which integrate reliance on artificial intelligence methodologies, are currently being developed.…”