Alba-Bernal, AlfonsoLavado-Valenzuela, RocíoDomínguez-Recio, María EmiliaJiménez-Rodriguez, BegoñaQueipo-Ortuño, María IsabelAlba, EmilioComino-Méndez, Iñaki2022-07-082022-07-082020-11-09Alba-Bernal A, Lavado-Valenzuela R, Domínguez-Recio ME, Jiménez-Rodriguez B, Queipo-Ortuño MI, Alba E, et al. Challenges and achievements of liquid biopsy technologies employed in early breast cancer. EBioMedicine. 2020 Dec;62:103100http://hdl.handle.net/10668/3766Breast cancer is the most common cancer type in women worldwide and its early detection is crucial to curing the disease. Tissue biopsy, currently the method of choice to obtain tumour molecular information, is invasive and might be affected by tumour heterogeneity rendering it incapable to portray the complete molecular picture. Liquid biopsy permits to study disease features in a more comprehensive manner by sampling biofluids and extracting tumour components such as circulating-tumour DNA (ctDNA), circulating-tumour cells (CTCs), and/or circulating-tumour RNA (ctRNA) amongst others in a monitoring-compatible manner. In this review, we describe the recent progress in the utilization of the circulating tumour components using early breast cancer samples. We review the most important analytes and technologies employed for their study.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Liquid biopsyLocalized breast cancerCirculating-tumour DNACirculating-tumour cellsCirculating-tumour RNABiopsia líquidaNeoplasias de la mamaARNADNCélulasARN CircularPacientesMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Neoplasms::Neoplasms by Site::Breast NeoplasmsMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Nucleic Acids, Nucleotides, and Nucleosides::Nucleic Acids::DNA::DNA, NeoplasmMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Services Administration::Patient Care Management::Disease ManagementMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms::Pathologic Processes::Disease Attributes::Disease SusceptibilityMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Diagnosis::Early Diagnosis::Early Detection of CancerMedical Subject Headings::Check Tags::FemaleMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Diagnosis::Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures::Clinical Laboratory Techniques::Cytological Techniques::Cytodiagnosis::BiopsyMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Neoplasms::Neoplastic Processes::Neoplasm Metastasis::Neoplastic Cells, CirculatingMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Nucleic Acids, Nucleotides, and Nucleosides::Nucleic Acids::RNA::RNA, Antisense::MicroRNAsMedical Subject Headings::Persons::Persons::Patientsreview article33161226open access10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.1031002352-3964PMC7670097