ABSTRACT
Liquid biopsies have great promise for precision medicine as they provide information about primary and metastatic tumors via a minimally invasive method. In gastric cancer patients, a large number of blood-based biomarkers have been reported for their potential role in clinical practice for screening, early diagnosis, prognostic evaluation, recurrence monitoring and therapeutic efficiency follow-up. This current review focuses on blood liquid biopsies' role and their clinical implications in gastric cancer patients, with an emphasis on circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). We also provide a brief discussion of the potential and limitations of liquid biopsies use and their future use in the routine clinical care of gastric cancer.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia (SZ) has been associated with an imbalance in the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. The objectives of this study were to compare TNF-α and its soluble receptors' serum levels in individuals with SZ with the levels found in a group of healthy volunteers and to investigate the possible association between these biomarkers and the dimensions and severity of symptoms, clinical outcomes and response to treatment in patients with SZ. METHODS: Fifty-four chronically medicated SZ outpatients and 118 healthy controls were included in the study. TNF-α levels were measured by Cytometric Bead Assay (CBA), and serum levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNFR1) and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNFR2) were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 were significantly elevated in patients with SZ as compared to the healthy control group. In the group of individuals with SZ, the levels of both types of soluble TNF receptors showed a negative correlation with global functioning. sTNFR1 levels were higher in the treatment-resistant patients as compared to the non-treatment-resistant patients and the controls. sTNFR1 levels were also heightened in patients with SZ and concomitant depression. CONCLUSION: Our findings reinforce that SZ is associated with an inflammatory profile and suggest that sTNFR1 is a marker of a treatment-resistance and severe clinical course in SZ.
