Something intriguing occurs when nanoparticles come into contact with biological fluids: proteins attach themselves to the nanoparticle surfaces, forming what is called a "protein corona." This phenomenon has now resulted in a technique that could allow doctors and researchers to glean additional information from the blood of cancer patients. When researchers from the University of Manchester extracted injected liposomes—lipid-based nanoparticles used for drug delivery with minimal side effects—...

A new cancer detection test called TumorScanTM may be the first universal liquid biopsy to be introduced into the market. Developed at the University of Bradford, the test, alongside other methods, will use a "rule in, or rule out" strategy to determine if cancer is present in patients. By using ultraviolet light to analyze DNA damage in white blood cells, the test is able to identify measurable differences in how susceptible cells are to further damage in individuals with cancer. Damage within ...

Methods for early cancer detection have now expanded to include liquid biopsies—small amounts of body fluids collected for laboratory examination. According to a recent review of current and emerging liquid biopsy strategies, published in Biomicrofluidics, researchers have developed a strategy for cancer detection: a microfluidic device that mounts pathology labs on chips to capture cancer cells in blood, saliva, or urine samples. This method of detecting cancer has many advantages over collecti...

A new technique that utilizes liquid biopsies and conditional reprogramming has the potential to offer personalized treatment strategies for patients with bladder cancer. Accounting for approximately 17,000 deaths in the United States in 2018, bladder cancer is distinctive from many other cancers in that its survival rates have not improved in the past 30 years. Treatment regimens vary due to their dependency on associated risk factors and each patient's personal clinical characteristics. Invest...

Researchers have identified glioblastoma biomarkers in extracellular vesicles that could enable a liquid biopsy, serving as a more efficient and less invasive means of detecting and subtyping this cancer. The most aggressive type of brain tumor, glioblastoma has a poor survival rate and limited treatment options. While it can currently be diagnosed through tumor biopsies, this method can be time consuming, invasive, and painful. There is a need to develop more effective options for detecting gli...