Current status of molecular diagnostic approaches using liquid biopsy

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers, and developing an efficient and reliable approach for its early-stage diagnosis is urgently needed. Precancerous lesions of PDAC, such as pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), arise through multiple steps of driver gene alterations in KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, SMAD4, or GNAS. Hallmark mutations play a role in tumor initiation and progression, and their detection in bodily fluids is crucial for diagnosis. Recently, liquid biopsy has gained attention as an approach to complement pathological diagnosis, and in addition to mutation signatures in cell-free DNA, cell-free RNA, and extracellular vesicles have been investigated as potential diagnostic and prognostic markers. Integrating such molecular information to revise the diagnostic criteria for pancreatic cancer can enable a better understanding of the pathogenesis underlying inter-patient heterogeneity, such as sensitivity to chemotherapy and disease outcomes. This review discusses the current diagnostic approaches and clinical applications of genetic analysis in pancreatic cancer and diagnostic attempts by liquid biopsy and molecular analyses using pancreatic juice, duodenal fluid, and blood samples. Emerging knowledge in the rapidly advancing liquid biopsy field is promising for molecular profiling and diagnosing pancreatic diseases with significant diversity.

Automated summary

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive and deadly cancer, and there is an urgent need for an efficient and reliable early-stage diagnosis approach. Precancerous lesions of PDAC, such as PanIN and IPMN, result from driver gene alterations and their detection in bodily fluids is crucial for diagnosis. Liquid biopsy has gained attention as a complement to pathological diagnosis, and molecular markers in cell-free DNA, RNA, and extracellular vesicles have been investigated for potential diagnostic and prognostic purposes. This review discusses current diagnostic approaches, genetic analysis, and liquid biopsy attempts for diagnosing pancreatic cancer.