Recent progress in SERS technology applications in lung cancer Detection: From biomarkers to samples

Screening and detection of early-stage lung cancer is important for the diagnosis of the disease. However, the low specificity of markers and the insufficient sensitivity of the detection methods limit their widespread use in early lung cancer screening. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technology receives increasing attention in the field of lung cancer biomarker detection due to its high sensitivity, single-molecule-level detection capability and multiplexing characteristics. The aim of this review is to systematically review the recent advances in SERS technology in the detection of lung cancer-related markers exosomes, microRNAs (miRNAs), and DNA methylation. Additionally, this review comprehensively reviews the practical applications of SERS technology in the detection of blood, saliva samples and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in lung cancer patients. Finally, the review highlights the challenges and future prospects of SERS technology in the field of lung cancer biomarker detection.