Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 15, 2025
08:14
MicroRNA Based Liquid Biopsy: The Experience of the Plasma miRNA Signature Classifier MSC for Lung Cancer Screening
Published on: October 26, 2017
15.8K
Liquid biopsy-based multi-cancer early detection: an exploration road from evidence to implementation
Yongjie Xu1, Sibo Zhu2, Changfa Xia1
1Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Science Bulletin
|July 16, 2025
Summary
Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) using liquid biopsies shows promise for revolutionizing cancer screening. This review explores MCED advancements, challenges, and its integration into healthcare for better cancer control.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
- Genomics
Background:
- Current cancer screening methods are limited, detecting few cancer types with low accuracy and poor patient adherence.
- Liquid biopsy-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) offers a promising alternative for early cancer detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review advancements in MCED technologies and guide the selection of cancer types for MCED panels.
- To examine the clinical development pathway for MCED, including biomarker discovery, validation, and clinical trials.
- To address challenges in MCED, such as sensitivity, specificity, and equitable access, and evaluate health economic benefits.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of MCED technologies and clinical development.
- Analysis of biomarker discovery, analytical validation, and randomized controlled trials for MCED.
- Evaluation of endpoints, challenges, and health economic impact of MCED implementation.
Main Results:
- Several MCED tests are in clinical trials, but none are yet approved, indicating ongoing efficacy and applicability uncertainties.
- Key challenges include optimizing sensitivity for early-stage cancers, minimizing false positives/negatives, and ensuring equitable access.
- The review highlights the importance of selecting appropriate endpoints like reduced late-stage cancer incidence or mortality.
Conclusions:
- MCED holds significant potential to transform cancer control by enabling earlier detection across multiple cancer types.
- Addressing technical, clinical, and implementation challenges is crucial for the successful integration of MCED into healthcare systems.
- Further research and rigorous evaluation are needed to confirm the added value and health economic benefits of widespread MCED adoption.
