Genome-wide studies in prostate cancer poised liquid biopsy as a molecular discovery tool

Abstract

Liquid biopsy is emerging as an intriguing tool in clinical disease detection and monitoring. Compared to a standard tissue biopsy, performing a liquid biopsy incurs minimal invasiveness, captures comprehensive disease representation, and can be more sensitive at an early stage. Recent genome-wide liquid biopsy studies in prostate cancer analyzing plasma samples have provided insights into the genome and epigenome dynamics during disease progression. In-depth genomic sequencing can offer a comprehensive understanding of cancer evolution, enabling more accurate clinical decision-making. Furthermore, exploring beyond the DNA sequence itself provides opportunities to investigate the regulatory mechanisms underlying various disease phenotypes. Here, we summarize these advances and offer prospects for their future application.