Published online Apr 21, 2020. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i15.1708
Peer-review started: December 25, 2019
First decision: January 16, 2020
Revised: March 13, 2020
Accepted: March 19, 2020
Article in press: March 19, 2020
Published online: April 21, 2020
Processing time: 117 Days and 22.9 Hours
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system worldwide, especially in China. Due to the lack of effective early detection methods, ESCC patients often present at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, which seriously affects the prognosis of patients. At present, early detection of ESCC mainly depends on invasive and expensive endoscopy and histopathological biopsy. Therefore, there is an unmet need for a non-invasive method to detect ESCC in the early stages. With the emergence of a large class of non-invasive diagnostic tools, serum tumor markers have attracted much attention because of their potential for detection of early tumors. Therefore, the identification of serum tumor markers for early detection of ESCC is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to achieve early diagnosis and treatment of ESCC. This article reviews the recent advances in the discovery of blood-based ESCC biomarkers, and discusses the origins, clinical applications, and technical challenges of clinical validation of various types of biomarkers.
Core tip: At present, the early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) mainly depends on endoscopy and histopathological biopsy. However, the high cost and invasiveness of endoscopy have limited its use as a tool for screening the general population. Blood tests provide a non-invasive method for early detection of ESCC. Therefore, this article reviews the recent advances in the discovery of blood-based biomarkers in the early detection of ESCC.