Blood platelets as an RNA biomarker platform for neuro-oncological diseases

Blood-based liquid biopsies are an upcoming approach for earlier cancer detection, diagnostics, prognostics, therapy-response prediction, and therapy monitoring, including in patients with tumors of the central nervous system. Among these, liquid biopsies are plasma-derived markers such as cell-free DNA, RNA and proteins, extracellular vesicles, circulating glioma cells, immune cells, and blood platelets. Blood platelets are involved in the local and systemic response to the presence of cancer, thereby sequestering and splicing RNAs, which may be clinically useful as blood-based biomarkers. In this review, we discuss the available literature regarding the role of blood platelets in gliomas and provide suggestions for future research efforts.