Progress of Liquid Biopsy in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer with Malignant Pleural Effusion

Lung cancer is the malignancy with the highest mortality rate worldwide. Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) caused by advanced lung cancer severely affects the quality of life and prognosis of patients. Tumor-associated genetic testing is the basis for making precise treatment decisions. There are some risks of tissue biopsy, and it is difficult to sample repeatedly. Due to its non-invasive and can reflect the full profile of tumor gene characteristics, liquid biopsy is increasingly used in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Because of the extremely low DNA level of circulating tumor, the sensitivity and specificity of liquid biopsy based on blood samples are limited. Tumor cells is enriched in MPE. The detection of cell-free DNA, extracellular vesicles and micro-RNA in MPE will be helpful to the diagnose, treatment and assess prognosis of patients with lung cancer. This review aims to discuss the research progress of liquid biopsy based on MPE in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer patients. .