Electrochemical biochip technologies for clinical sample analysis in molecular oncology

Electrochemical (EC) detection of nucleic acids presents a promising approach for identifying these biomolecules as important cancer biomarkers. Primary benefits include affordability, rapidity, simplicity,minimal sample requirements, and potential for miniaturization, making it ideal for personalized, decentralized medicine at point-ofcare or in limited resource settings. By integrating the EC detection with with novel, PCR-free isothermal amplification techniques (IAT) like loop-mediated amplification (LAMP), rolling circle amplification (RCA), or recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), high sensitivity and selectivity can be achieved. Application of these technologies in analyzing clinical samples from cancer patients, targeting avariety of DNA/RNA biomarkers, is demonstrated. Examples include the development of bioassays for detecting HPV oncoviruses in cervical cancer, long non-coding RNAs in prostate cancer, and DNA point mutations in BRAF or KRAS oncogenes in colorectal cancer. Consequently, EC methods coupled with IATs could serve as a valuable alternative in contemporary molecular cancer diagnostics.