title: A liquid biopsy for head and neck cancers.
abstract: Head and neck cancer patients often present with advanced metastatic disease resulting in a poor 5-year survival. Therefore, there is a need for non-invasive diagnostic tools that could complement conventional imaging to inform clinicians of patient outcomes and treatment responses. A liquid biopsy addresses this unmet clinical need; a simple peripheral blood draw could provide information about the disseminated disease in terms of circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA. Moreover, detectable tumor DNA in the saliva of head and neck cancer patients could signify the early signs of the disease and present an opportunity for clinical intervention. This review provides an overview of the current literature with regard to the feasibility of such a test in the head and neck cancer field and highlights the need for such a test.
authors.affiliation: a The School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation , Queensland University of Technology , Kelvin Grove , Australia.
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: a The School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation , Queensland University of Technology , Kelvin Grove , Australia.
authors.forename: Arutha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kulasinghe
authors.affiliation: b Department of Otolaryngology , Princess Alexandra Hospital , Woolloongabba , Australia.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: c Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre-Queensland, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation , Queensland University of Technology, Translational Research Institute , Brisbane , Australia.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: a The School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation , Queensland University of Technology , Kelvin Grove , Australia.
authors.forename: Chamindie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Punyadeera
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm
keywords: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs); circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA); head and neck cancer (HNC); head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC); human papillomavirus (HPV)