Author Description

It is well recognized that blood could be the optimal site for evaluating cancer, allowing easy and repeated access for determining prognosis, establishing molecular targets, evaluating the efficacy of therapy, detecting the earliest signs of recurrence, and even detecting cancer at its earliest and most curable stages. The analysis of cancer through blood samples is now known as the liquid biopsy and has been a rich source of research and clinical application. There has been an explosion of interest and progress in liquid biopsy technologies since the first edition of this book. The second edition will expand its focus to now include not only circulating tumor cells (CTC), but also other emerging aspects of the liquid biopsy, including circulating tumor DNA and methylated DNA (ctDNA, ct meDNA), ctRNA, ct miRNA, circulating tumor proteins (and other) biomarkers and circulating tumor derived exosomes (ctExosomes).