Biópsia líquida como ferramenta de diagnóstico do câncer: uma revisão da literatura

Abstract

Biopsy is a surgical procedure that extracts a tissue sample for analysis and diagnosis. This procedure is invasive and in some cases it cannot be performed as a routine, either due to the surgical risk to which the patient is exposed, the sensitivity of the tissue to be analyzed or the difficulty of accessing it. Tissue biopsy has limited repeatability, is expensive, and there may be post-surgical complications. As an alternative, a new method for diagnosing diseases such as cancer, called liquid biopsy, has stood out among researchers. The liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure and uses body fluids to perform the analyzes, such as: blood, saliva, CSF and urine, with blood being the material frequently used. It has shown promising results in the diagnosis of cancer, especially in its early stage. The early diagnosis of cancer is of fundamental importance for the cure and treatment of the disease, reducing mortality and increasing the effectiveness of treatments. In addition to its use in diagnosis, liquid biopsy is being used to monitor patients undergoing cancer treatment due to the possibility of repeating the procedure more frequently than in the traditional method.