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‹ Wed · 25 Mar 2026
Near-term implementable finding

Analysis of pleural fluid biomarkers for diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion and molecular characterization of lung cancer: a review.

Pleural fluid offers a less invasive way to diagnose lung cancer and understand its molecular features for patients unable to undergo surgical biopsy.

This review synthesizes evidence on pleural fluid as a liquid biopsy source for diagnosing malignant pleural effusion and characterizing lung cancer molecular features. The approach is particularly relevant for patients who cannot undergo surgical biopsy, representing a meaningful access improvement for a large clinical population.

What the study was

Study design
Review
Population
Lung cancer / malignant pleural effusion patients
Category
Diagnostics
Maturity
Validated
Journal
Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine

Why it surfaced

Clinical relevance high for non-surgical lung cancer patients; pleural fluid as liquid biopsy is near-term implementable but review design limits score.

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