Opinion: Address liquid biopsy disparities today to ensure equity in outcomes tomorrow
The promise of scientific and medical innovation often comes with a downside: improvements in care benefit some people, but not all. Without concerted effort, that is exactly what could happen with liquid biopsy — an evolving technology aimed at improving cancer care using just a few milliliters of blood or other body fluids.
Liquid biopsy technologies are maturing at a rapid pace. They are already being used as a precision medicine tool, helping clinicians match a patient’s cancer to targeted therapies. Additional uses are on the horizon. The Food and Drug Administration’s approval this week of a liquid biopsy test for colorectal cancer is the latest step forward in the effort to make this approach part of the existing toolbox to detect hidden cancer. Liquid biopsy is also demonstrating promise in monitoring how individuals are responding to treatment and in detecting cancer recurrence.
