Liquid Biopsy in Breast Cancer (Volume II)

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue—the second edition of “Liquid Biopsy in Breast Cancer” (https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/cancers/special_issues/Liquid_Biopsy_Breast_Cancer).

Liquid biopsy is being increasingly recognized as a valuable non-invasive tool for the management of patients with solid tumors. It mainly includes the analysis of intact circulating tumor cells (CTCs), nucleic acids such as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating miRNAs, as well as exosomes/extracellular vesicles. CTC enumeration emerged as the first liquid biopsy analyte with clinical relevance in breast cancer (BC) in as early as 2004, and, since then, large clinical trials have verified the role of CTCs in the prediction of relapse or disease progression, as well as the survival of metastatic BC patients. Beyond enumeration, CTC characterization at the protein/RNA/DNA level has been widely used to provide information about tumor heterogeneity and to uncover novel mechanisms of metastasis and resistance to current therapies. Moreover, different liquid biopsy analytes provide independent yet complementary information; thus, their combined use can better reflect tumor heterogeneity and improve disease monitoring in real time. The analysis of ctDNA has gained significant attention mainly due to its high reproducibility, and it is increasingly utilized in BC clinical trials to monitor treatment outcomes. Recently, a PIK3CA companion diagnostic assay was approved by the FDA to detect PIK3CA mutations in the ctDNA of BC patients eligible for treatment with alpelisib. Other liquid biopsy analytes such as circulating miRNAs and exosomes/extracellular vesicles are also widely used in BC research, but their clinical validity and utility are still under investigation.

This Special Issue of Cancers welcomes contributions that present new data and address or discuss liquid biopsy biomarkers with prognostic and/or predictive relevance in BC. This Special Issue will also focus on translational research that will shed light on the role of CTCs and other liquid biopsy analytes in BC metastatic progression, as well as resistance to endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, or targeted therapies. Studies discussing the development of new liquid biopsy assays are also welcome. Of great interest are reports on the longitudinal assessment of liquid biopsy, as well as studies utilizing liquid biopsy to identify potential novel therapeutic targets.

Dr. Maria Papadaki
Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Mavroudis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• liquid biopsy
• liquid biomarkers
• precision oncology
• disease monitoring
• treatment monitoring
• tumor heterogenei-ty
• circulating tumor cells (CTCs)
• circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)
• circulating miRNAs
• exosomes
• extracellular vesicles (EVs)

• Liquid Biopsy in Breast Cancer in Cancers (6 articles)