CIRCULATING TUMOR DNA LIQUID BIOPSY IN COLORECTAL CANCER: ADVANCES IN EARLY DETECTION, MINIMAL RESIDUAL DISEASE, AND PRECISION ONCOLOGY
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major global health challenge, with disease outcomes largely dependent on early detection, accurate molecular characterization and effective therapeutic management. Conventional diagnostic approaches, including colonoscopy, tissue biopsy, and imaging, are associated with limitations such as invasiveness, sampling bias, and inability to provide real-time information on tumor evolution. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-based liquid biopsy has emerged as a promising minimally invasive biotechnology approach for detecting and monitoring tumor-derived molecular alterations in blood. This review summarizes recent advances in ctDNA analysis for CRC, focusing on molecular mechanisms, analytical platforms, and clinical applications. The roles of polymerase chain reaction-based assays, digital droplet PCR, next-generation sequencing, DNA methylation profiling, and multi-omics approaches in ctDNA characterization are discussed. Furthermore, the applications of ctDNA in early cancer detection, prognosis prediction, minimal residual disease monitoring, treatment response assessment, and precision oncology are highlighted. Despite significant progress, challenges including low ctDNA abundance, tumor heterogeneity, technical variability, assay standardization, and clinical validation remain barriers to widespread implementation. Future integration of artificial intelligence, advanced sequencing technologies, and personalized molecular surveillance strategies may enhance the clinical utility of ctDNA. Overall, ctDNA-based liquid biopsy represents a promising molecular diagnostic approach with potential to transform CRC detection and personalized patient management.
Keywords
- Colorectal cancer; circulating tumor DNA; liquid biopsy; precision oncology; molecular biomarkers; next-generation sequencing
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