From liquid biopsy to spatial liquid biopsy: extracellular vesicles as molecular maps of cancer metastasis
- 1NanoSomiX, Inc.
Abstract
Cancer metastasis remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality, yet current liquid biopsy approaches provide limited information regarding the anatomical distribution of metastatic disease. Circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells, and extracellular vesicle (EV)-based assays have substantially advanced molecular characterization of cancer but generally do not reveal the tissue sites where metastatic progression is occurring. Here, we introduce the concept of Spatial Liquid Biopsy, a proposed next-generation framework that utilizes circulating tumor-associated EVs as molecular maps of metastatic disease. We hypothesize that EVs released from metastatic lesions may carry both tumor-associated signatures and tissue-associated extracellular proteins reflecting interactions with the local metastatic microenvironment. By integrating tumor-associated EV enrichment with multiplex profiling of organ-associated surface markers, Spatial Liquid Biopsy seeks to identify composite tumor-associated/organ-associated EV signatures that may provide greater spatial specificity than either marker alone. If experimentally and clinically validated, these signatures may enable minimally invasive inference of metastatic organ involvement and longitudinal assessment of metastatic disease evolution. This framework represents a conceptual expansion of liquid biopsy from detecting circulating evidence of malignancy toward generating spatial information that may complement imaging and guide personalized cancer surveillance and management.
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BibTeX
@article{mitsuhashi2026from,
title = {{From liquid biopsy to spatial liquid biopsy: extracellular vesicles as molecular maps of cancer metastasis}},
author = {Masato Mitsuhashi},
journal = {Frontiers in Oncology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fonc.2026.1940169},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2026.1940169/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - From liquid biopsy to spatial liquid biopsy: extracellular vesicles as molecular maps of cancer metastasis
AU - Masato Mitsuhashi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Frontiers in Oncology
DO - 10.3389/fonc.2026.1940169
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2026.1940169/full
AB - Cancer metastasis remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality, yet current liquid biopsy approaches provide limited information regarding the anatomical distribution of metastatic disease. Circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells, and extracellular vesicle (EV)-based assays have substantially advanced molecular characterization of cancer but generally do not reveal the tissue sites where metastatic progression is occurring. Here, we introduce the concept of Spatial Liquid Biopsy, a proposed next-generation framework that utilizes circulating tumor-associated EVs as molecular maps of metastatic disease. We hypothesize that EVs released from metastatic lesions may carry both tumor-associated signatures and tissue-associated extracellular proteins reflecting interactions with the local metastatic microenvironment. By integrating tumor-associated EV enrichment with multiplex profiling of organ-associated surface markers, Spatial Liquid Biopsy seeks to identify composite tumor-associated/organ-associated EV signatures that may provide greater spatial specificity than either marker alone. If experimentally and clinically validated, these signatures may enable minimally invasive inference of metastatic organ involvement and longitudinal assessment of metastatic disease evolution. This framework represents a conceptual expansion of liquid biopsy from detecting circulating evidence of malignancy toward generating spatial information that may complement imaging and guide personalized cancer surveillance and management.
SN - 2234-943X
ER -