Profiles of blood biomarkers in lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, including China. Early-stage treatment involves anatomical lung resection, while advanced stages require chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Computed tomography screening has been widely used for lung cancer screening, but over 24 % of CT-screened individuals have pulmonary abnormalities that require further investigation. The healthcare system is burdened by these indeterminate abnormalities, with large numbers of nodules being false positives. Biomarkers have been used to identify cancer patients or monitor treatment response. Research on molecular biomarkers for lung cancer includes autoantibodies, blood protein profiling, complement fragments, microRNAs, DNA methylation, and circulating tumor DNA. Blood-based biomarkers offer benefits such as easy acquisition, low cost, minimal patient invasiveness, and established procedures for specimen preparation and assay performance. Panels of biomarkers have been researched for higher sensitivity or specificity, allowing clinicians to rule out malignancy in IPNs found during LDCT screening. For individuals who can benefit from therapy for an extended period, continuous monitoring of changes in indicators during treatment is more sensible. Developing a cost-effective, efficient, and convenient strategy for early lung cancer diagnosis could significantly impact patient management. Further research is needed to determine if biomarkers found from patients with established disease can be used on samples taken earlier in the diagnostic process or at a preclinical stage.