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‹ Fri · 19 Jun 2026
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Liquid biopsy-guided kidney-sparing management in upper tract urothelial carcinoma: from preoperative risk stratification to perioperative surveillance.

Blood tests for tumor DNA offer a decision-support tool to help guide kidney-preserving surgery in rare upper urinary tract cancers where organ conservation is challenging.

This review synthesizes evidence for liquid biopsy applications in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (a rare but lethal malignancy) to guide kidney-sparing surgical decisions and perioperative monitoring. The clinical framework positions ctDNA/cfDNA as a decision-support tool in a disease area with high unmet need for organ-preservation strategies.

What the study was

Study design
Narrative review
Population
Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients
Category
Early Detection
Maturity
Exploratory
Journal
Frontiers in Oncology

Why it surfaced

Clinically-framed review applying liquid biopsy to UTUC management; Front Oncol is moderate-tier but the clinical framing is relevant to ctDNA surveillance topic.

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