Recent Advances in Electrochemical and Optical Biosensors for Cancer Biomarker Detection

Cancer is a universal disease with a high mortality rate and caused by an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. Each cancer has its unique molecular change such as up/down-regulations of biological molecules in cancer cells. These biological molecules have been identified as biomarkers and used as a target analyte for cancer diagnosis. Since the level of cancer biomarkers is very insufficient at an early stage cancer, there is a need for technological advances that can be more accurate, ultra-sensitive, trustworthy, and selective to biomarkers. This review summarizes evaluation methods and recent advances in electrochemical and optical (fluorescent and colorimetric) biosensors to detect various cancer biomarkers as molecular targets. Electrochemical methods demonstrate rapid and ultra-sensitive detection of cancer biomarkers. And, fluorescent biosensors present improved target detection sensitivity by signal amplification strategy as well as provide the possibility to sense multiple biomarker targets with multiple fluorescent probes. Colorimetric biosensors easily and quickly detect cancer biomarkers by the naked eye for use as a point-of-care testing (POCT) platform. These biosensors can be further improved by understanding the complication of cancer cells and the molecular alterations in cancer progression for early diagnosis of cancer and patient prognosis.

Automated summary

Cancer is a universal disease caused by uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, and each type of cancer has its unique molecular changes. Electrochemical and optical biosensors, including fluorescent and colorimetric biosensors, offer rapid, sensitive, and multi-target detection of cancer biomarkers. These biosensors contribute to early cancer diagnosis and patient prognosis.