Cancer Biomarkers in Precision Oncology: Molecular Mechanisms, Clinical Applications, and Emerging Technologies

Cancer biomarkers have transformed modern oncology by enabling earlier detection, improved prognostic assessment, and more precise therapeutic stratification. As cancer is fundamentally a genetic and epigenetic disease driven by accumulated molecular alterations, biomarkers provide measurable indicators of tumor presence, biological behavior, and treatment response. Advances in high-throughput sequencing, proteomics, liquid biopsy technologies, and artificial intelligence have expanded the landscape of clinically actionable biomarkers far beyond traditional protein markers. Today, genomic mutations, epigenetic modifications, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), non-coding RNAs, immune signatures, and multi-omics integration are reshaping the paradigm of precision oncology. However, despite remarkable progress, significant challenges remain in validation, reproducibility, standardization, and equitable clinical implementation. This review comprehensively examines the molecular foundations of cancer biomarkers, categorizes major biomarker classes, and evaluates their clinical applications in early detection, prognosis, therapeutic guidance, and disease monitoring. Emerging technologies and future directions-including single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and Al-driven predictive modeling-are also critically discussed. By integrating molecular biology, translational research, and clinical practice, this article aims to provide a systematic and up-to-date perspective on the evolving role of cancer biomarkers in advancing personalized cancer care.

کلیدواژه ها:

Cancer biomarkers ، precision oncology ، genomic biomarkers ، liquid biopsy ، molecular diagnostics ، circulating tumor DNA ، personalized medicine ، cancer detection