Advances and applications of liquid biopsy approaches in hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancers: a literature review

Hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancers, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), are among the deadliest malignancies due to late-stage diagnosis and limited curative options. Conventional tissue biopsies are often invasive and insufficient for longitudinal monitoring. This review synthesizes the current available literature on liquid biopsy, a minimally invasive approach that uses analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in serum, plasma, or bile, to enable better early detection, surveillance, and treatment monitoring of HPB cancers.