Clinical application of liquid biopsy in colorectal cancer: detection, prediction, and treatment monitoring.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies affecting the gastrointestinal tract and is ranked third among cancers with the highest incidence and second-highest mortality rate worldwide. CRC exhibits a slow progression providing a wide treatment window. The currently employed CRC screening methods have shown great potential to prevent CRC and reduce CRC-related morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of CRC is achieved by colonoscopy and tissue biopsy, with studies showing that liquid biopsy is more effective in detecting and diagnosing early CRC patients. Increasing number of studies have shown that the tumor components shed into circulating blood can be detected in liquid form, and can be applied in the clinical management of CRC. Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), or tumor-associated platelets (TEPs) in the blood can be used for early screening and diagnosis of CRC, aid tumor staging, treatment response monitoring, and prediction of CRC recurrence and metastasis in a minimally invasive manner. This chapter provides an updated review of CTCs, ctDNA, and TEPs as novel biomarkers for CRC, highlighting their strengths and limitations.

Platelet membrane-based and tumor-associated platelettargeted drug delivery systems for cancer therapy / 医学前沿

Platelets have long been known to play critical roles in hemostasis by clumping and clotting blood vessel injuries. Recent experimental evidence strongly indicates that platelets can also interact with tumor cells by direct binding or secreting cytokines. For example, platelets have been shown to protect circulating cancer cells in blood circulation and to promote tumor metastasis. In-depth understanding of the role of platelets in cancer progression and metastasis provides promising approaches for platelet biomimetic drug delivery systems and functional platelet-targeting strategies for effective cancer treatment. This review highlights recent progresses in platelet membrane-based drug delivery and unique strategies that target tumor-associated platelets for cancer therapy. The paper also discusses future development opportunities and challenges encountered for clinical translation.