Biomarkers in Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Journal article : Review

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) has revolutionized the management of patients with oligometastatic and selected primary cancers due to its ability to deliver highly conformal, high-dose radiation in few fractions with minimal toxicity. However, the biological heterogeneity among patients treated with SABR results in variable outcomes, emphasizing the need for predictive and prognostic biomarkers to guide patient selection and post-treatment management. This narrative review discusses the current landscape of biomarker development in the context of SABR across tumor types. Key classes include circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), extracellular vesicles (EVs), radiomic features, and immunological markers. We highlight the role of each biomarker category in refining therapeutic approaches, their integration into ongoing clinical trials, and future directions for personalized SABR paradigms. Translating these promising biomarker strategies into clinical SABR workflows will require further standardisation, validation, and regulatory alignment.

Authors: Metawe, M; Mikropoulos, C; Al-Sattar, H; Sood, I; Jaafari, AM

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: MDPI
• Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 21
• Pages: 10640-10640
• Article number: 10640
• Publication date: 2025-10-31
• Acceptance date: 2025-10-30
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms262110640
• EISSN: 1422-0067
• ISSN: 1661-6596
• Language: English
• Keywords: liquid biopsy; biomarkers; translational oncology; radiomics; oligometastatic cancer; PSMA+ extracellular vesicles; immunotherapy; SABR; ctDNA
• Subtype: Review