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Malentacchi et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2020;6:34 Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2020.34 Metastasis and Treatment

Review Open Access

Liquid biopsy in endometrial cancer

Francesca Malentacchi , Chiara Sgromo , Lorenzo Antonuzzo , Serena Pillozzi 2
1
1
2
1 Department of Clinical Experimental and Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence 50134, Italy.
2 Clinical Oncology Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence 50134, Italy.
Correspondence to: Dr. Francesca Malentacchi, Department of Clinical Experimental and Biomedical Sciences, University of
Florence, Viale G.B. Morgagni 50, Florence 50134, Italy. E-mail: francesca.malentacchi@gmail.com

How to cite this article: Malentacchi F, Sgromo C, Antonuzzo L, Pillozzi S. Liquid Biopsy in endometrial cancer. J Cancer Metastasis
Treat 2020;6:34. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2020.34

Received: 16 Apr 2020 First Decision: 9 Jul 2020 Revised: 19 Jul 2020 Accepted: 11 Aug 2020 Published: 27 Sep 2020
Academic Editor: Wei Zhang Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Abstract
Liquid biopsy (LB) is an emerging tool for the evaluation of relapse in several cancers and nowadays is used in lung
cancer for primary detection and molecular characterization when tumoral tissue is not available. It can represent
an innovative biospecimen for the screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of all types of cancer and for monitoring
of therapeutic efficacy. LB includes several biofluids such as blood, urine, peritoneal fluid/lavage, and analytes
(circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA, long noncoding RNA, microRNA, vesicles, mRNA, and protein)
that can play different roles in diagnosis, prognosis, and patient management as well as in the improvement of
the knowledge of cancer evolution. Endometrial cancer (EC) is a tumor usually detected at low stage with a good
prognosis, but few low risk cases, unexpectedly, can evolve to bad prognosis. Up to now, no molecular target exists
to treat advanced stage or to define the evolution of low stage EC. This review focuses on how the LB may help in
the management and characterization of patients affected by EC.

Keywords: Endometrial cancer, liquid biopsy, long noncoding RNA, circular RNA, circulating tumor DNA,
circulating tumor cell, extracellular vesicle, peritoneal lavage

INTRODUCTION
The current use of traditional biopsy in the management of cancer has several limitations in the developing
era of precision medicine, with cancer treatment mainly due to the progression of cancer and the onset
of resistance to therapies. Sometimes tissue biopsy cannot reflect the heterogeneity of the primary tumor
and the revolution of tumor due to the natural course of the disease and under the pressure of treatment.

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
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