Biosensors in clinical practice : focus on oncohematology

Biosensors are devices that are capable of detecting specific biological analytes and converting their presence or concentration into some electrical, thermal, optical or other signal that can be easily analysed. The first biosensor was designed by Clark and Lyons in 1962 as a means of measuring glucose. Since then, much progress has been made and the applications of biosensors are today potentially boundless. This review is limited to their clinical applications, particularly in the field of oncohematology. Biosensors have recently been developed in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients affected by hematological malignancies, such as the biosensor for assessing the in vitro pre-treatment efficacy of cytarabine in acute myeloid leukemia, and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based biosensor for assessing the efficacy of imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia. The review also considers the challenges and future perspectives of biosensors in clinical practice.