Volume 30, Issue 167, January 2026

Role of liquid biopsy in cancer prevention and treatment process – review paper

Gabriela Krych^1♦, Aleksandra Rusak², Joanna Oklińska¹, Michał Skóra¹, Klaudia Jadczak³, Bartłomiej Kazimierski¹, Weronika Gniado¹, Dawid Mądry¹

¹Provincial Complex Hospital named after Jędrzej Śniadecki in Białystok, ul. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 26, 15-950 Białystok, Poland
²The Nicolaus Copernicus Municipal Polyclinical Hospital in Olsztyn, ul. Niepodległości 44, 10-045 Olsztyn, Poland
³University Clinical Hospital in Białystok, ul. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 26, 15-276 Białystok, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Gabriela Krych, Provincial Complex Hospital named after Jędrzej Śniadecki in Białystok, ul. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 26, 15-950 Białystok, Poland

ABSTRACT

Liquid biopsy is an insufficiently studied diagnostic method that detects cancer cells and other cancer biomarkers. It is a method that can be invasive, minimally invasive, or non-invasive and uses biological fluids such as blood, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, stool, semen, breast milk, or vaginal discharge, but usually blood. Its particular advantage is the ability to detect cancer at a very early stage. Detecting cancer at a lower stage increases the patient's chances of complete recovery, reducing the risk of complications and the overall cost of therapy. In addition to detecting cancer, a liquid biopsy can assess the effectiveness of anticancer therapy and detect minimal residual disease after treatment. After the method was introduced in 2010, the concept was widely developed, giving many opportunities for the future in oncology. Adhering to proper standardization protocols provides the chance to establish a universal screening test in the future. At the moment, a combination of both methods should be considered, as they can complement each other to provide the best outcome for patients.

Keywords: liquid biopsy, cancer screening, Cell-Free DNA, Circulating Tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e14ms3802

PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v30i167.e14ms3802

Published: 27 January 2026