A Review of Focal Therapies for Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) brain metastases (BM) are common at presentation and relapse. Historically, BM were managed with whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT). However, WBRT is associated with significant toxicity, and so interest in the focal management of BM (focal radiotherapy including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and surgery) is increasing.

A brain metastasis liquid biopsy: Where are we now?

Brain metastases remain a challenging and feared complication for patients with cancer and research in this area has lagged behind research into metastases to other organs. Due to their location and the risks associated with neurosurgical biopsies, the biology underpinning brain metastases response to treatment and evolution over time remains poorly understood. Liquid biopsies are proposed to overcome many of the limitations present with tissue biopsies, providing a better representation of tumor heterogeneity, facilitating repeated sampling, and providing a noninvasive assessment of tumor biology.

Shooting the messenger: a systematic review investigating extracellular vesicle isolation and characterisation methods and their influence on understanding extracellular vesicles-radiotherapy interactions in glioblastoma.

Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold promise for improving our understanding of radiotherapy response in glioblastoma due to their role in intercellular communication within the tumour microenvironment (TME). However, methodologies to study EVs are evolving with significant variation within the EV research community.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to critically appraise EV isolation and characterisation methodologies and how this influences our understanding of the findings from studies investigating radiotherapy and EV interactions in glioblastoma.