Conclusion
Comparing to conventional tissue biopsy that excises diseased tissue from the patient’s body, liquid biopsy with the advantages of minimal invasiveness can be used to rapid and real-time diagnosis of cancers, as well as the longitudinal monitoring along tumor dynamic changes, and thus many liquid biopsy-based instruments emerged. However, existing liquid biopsy instruments suffer many limitations, such as insufficient accuracy and sensitivity, inadequate automation, poor commercialization, etc., thus existing instrument still cannot be an alternative to tissue biopsy. The ideal LB instrument either allows precise, reliable, rapid, and comprehensive cancer detection in the laboratory or can be used as a portable real-time monitoring tool in a health resource-limited place. With the improvement of highly sensitive techniques for precision medicine, next-generation LB instruments are promising tools for early diagnosis, real-time monitoring, prognosis, and prediction of response to treatment for various cancer types. We hope that the future LB instrument will become an optimal and reliable technology upon which we can all rely.