A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book
Emerging trends in cancer biomarkers and their clinical effect on personalized treatment
Authors: Opatoyinbo, Julius Oluwafemi; Akanbi, Clinton Ayodeji Akanbi; Ojo, Adebola Busola; Ogunlakin, Akingbolabo Daniel; Molehin, Olorunfemi Raphael; Ojo, Adeleke Ojo
Editors: Umesh Kumar & Vishal Das
Publisher: Elsevier
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Advances in Cancer Research
Book title : Biomarkers for Cancer Screening, Diagnosis and Targeted Therapeutic Approaches
Series title: Advances in Cancer Research
Number in series: 170
Volume: 170
First page : 139
Last page: 170
ISBN: 978-0-443-43272-9
ISSN: 0065-230X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2025.12.002
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: No Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : No Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2025.12.002
One of the most difficult global health issues is cancer, whose incidence and mortality rates are expected to rise significantly over the next several decades. This increasing burden highlights the need for early diagnosis, accurate prognostic tools, and predictive markers for individualized treatment plans. Biomarkers, which are measurable indicators of disease states or therapeutic responses, have become essential to modern oncology and are driving the precision medicine revolution by improving patient stratification, directing therapy choices, and facilitating disease monitoring. This review explores the development of cancer biomarkers, tracing their progression from early histopathological and serum markers to advanced molecular and immunological tools. The key biomarker categories discussed include genomic alterations such as somatic mutations, gene fusions, and copy number variations, all of which offer actionable insights for targeted therapies. Epigenetic markers, which include noncoding RNAs, histone modifications, and DNA methylation, are notable for their regulatory functions and hold promise as noninvasive diagnostic instruments. Proteomic and metabolomic methods offer useful insights into tumor biology, while circulating biomarkers, including circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and exosomes, allow real-time, noninvasive monitoring of disease progression and minimal residual disease. Immunological biomarkers such as the tumor mutational burden (TMB) and programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression are becoming increasingly important in guiding immunotherapy choices. This study also highlights how emerging technologies, including next-generation sequencing, liquid biopsy platforms, and artificial intelligence-based analytics, have accelerated biomarker discovery and integration into clinical workflows. The observable advantages of biomarker-driven care are demonstrated by case studies and real-world applications in a variety of cancer types. Despite tremendous advancements, obstacles such as tumor heterogeneity, intertest variability, high costs, inconsistent regulations, and differences in healthcare infrastructure prevent widespread adoption, particularly in low- and middle-income nations where access to biomarker technologies is still unequal and could exacerbate global disparities in cancer outcomes. Future directions include the use of multiplex biomarker panels, the integration of digital pathology, and the exploration of novel biomarker domains such as the tumor microenvironment and microbiome. Personalized neoantigen-based vaccines and immunotherapies also represent promising frontiers. Overall, this review underscores the transformative potential of biomarkers in reshaping cancer diagnostics and therapeutics and calls for sustained collaborative research, technological advancements, and equitable policy frameworks to realize their full global impact.
Keywords:
Cancer biomarkers, Epigenetic markers, liquid biopsy, Personalized cancer treatment, precision oncology
