Liquid biopsy in the clinical management of tumor of urinary system: current status and future developments

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Angel

Urinary system tumors pose a major health risk, yet reliable non-invasive examinations remain insufficient. Liquid biopsy provides an emerging approach for detecting cancer biomarkers using patient body fluids, including circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and free nucleic acids, circulating-free RNAs, exosomes, and tumor-educated platelets. This review emphasizes its clinical value across diagnosis, prognosis, treatment monitoring, and medication guidance. The non-invasive workflow improves patient compliance and enables real-time, continuous biomarker collection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Liquid biopsy concept and components

Clinical applications (screening, diagnosis, prognosis)

Cellular Oncology (2026) 49:76 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s13402-026-01216-3](https://doi.org/10.1007/s13402-026-01216-3) REVIEW Liquid biopsy in the clinical management of tumor of urinary system: current status and future developments Runsen Xu1 · Yiming Zhao1 · Peng Su2 · Lin Li3 · Hongyuan Liang4 · Dan Dong5 · Kefeng Wang1 Received: 11 December 2025 / Accepted: 12 April 2026 © The Author(s) 2026 Abstract Urinary system tumors are a major threat to human health. However, there is a lack of reliable non-invasive examinations for urinary system tumors. Liquid biopsy is an emerging method for detecting biomarkers in patients in recent years. Its components mainly include circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNAs, circulating-free DNAs, circulating-free RNAs, exosomes and tumor educated platelets. Liquid biopsy is considered to be of great significance for the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment monitoring and medication guidance of cancers. The non-invasive characteristics of liquid biopsy significantly improve patients’ compliance and make it possible to collect patient information in real time and continuously. In this review, we selected urinary system tumors as the clinical application subjects of liquid biopsy. We believe that liquid biopsy has great potential value and application prospects in the clinical treatment of urinary system tumors. Keywords Liquid biopsy · Urinary system tumor · Biomarker · Clinical management Abbreviations Runsen Xu and Yiming Zhao contributed equally to this work. 􀀍 Lin Li[lilinkf@sj-hospital.org](lilinkf@sj-hospital.org) 􀀍 Hongyuan Liang [hyliang@cmu.edu.cn](hyliang@cmu.edu.cn) 􀀍 Dan Dong [ddong@cmu.edu.cn](ddong@cmu.edu.cn) 􀀍 Kefeng Wang [wang.kefeng@hotmail.com](wang.kefeng@hotmail.com) 1 Department of Urology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, \#36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110004, China 2 Medical Research Center, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, \#7 Mulan Road, Xihu District, Shenyang 110004, China 3 Department of Rehabilitation, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, \#36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110004, China 4 Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, \#36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110004, China 5 College of Basic Medical Science, China Medical University,\#77 Puhe Road, Shenbei New District, Shenyang 110122, China PCa BCa RCC CTCs CfNACtDNA MRNA MiRNACircRNA EV TEP LncRNAs LO PSA AR AR-V MHSPC MCRPC OS MRD PCA3 EPI TURBT NMIBC Prostate cancer Bladder cancer Renal cell carcinoma Circulating tumor cells Cell-free nucleic acid Circulating tumor DNA Messenger RNA MicroRNA Circular RNA Extracellular vesicle Tumor-educated platelet Long non-coding RNAs Large oncosomes Prostate-specific antigen Androgen receptor Androgen receptor splice variant Metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer Metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer Overall survival Minimal residual disease Prostate cancer antigen 3 ExoDx Prostate IntelliScore Transurethral resection of bladder tumor Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer 1 3 MIBC NAC UC Mt-utDNA CK+ MRCC NMRCC TKI ICI Muscle-invasive bladder cancer Neoadjuvant chemotherapy Urothelial carcinoma Multi-target urine tumor DNA Cytokeratin positive Metastatic renal cell carcinoma Non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma Tyrosine kinase inhibitor Immune checkpoint inhibitor 1 Introduction Urinary system tumor is a major disease that endangers human health. According to the report in 2025, the three tumors with the highest incidence in the urinary system are prostate cancer (PCa), bladder cancer (BCa), and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) [1] . PCa was the first most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in male. BCa was the seventh most common tumor, with 84,870 new cases. And there were 80,980 new cases of RCC [1

FAQs

What problem does the article highlight for urinary system tumors?

The article points out the lack of reliable non-invasive examinations for urinary system tumors.

Which components are used in liquid biopsy according to the text?

It includes circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and circulating-free nucleic acids (DNA/RNA), exosomes, and tumor-educated platelets.

Why is liquid biopsy considered important in cancer management?

It is described as significant for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment monitoring, and medication guidance, and its non-invasive nature improves patient compliance while supporting real-time continuous data collection.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Angel