Biology, detection, and clinical implications of circulating tumor cells

EMBO Molecular Medicine

Simon A Joosse¹  Tobias M Gorges¹ 

[1] Department of Tumor Biology, Center of Experimental Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

关键词: Disseminating tumor cells (DTC);    EMT;    metastasis;    tumor cell dormancy;    tumor cell plasticity;   

DOI  :  10.15252/emmm.201303698

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

Cancer metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related death, and dissemination of tumor cells through the blood circulation is an important intermediate step that also exemplifies the switch from localized to systemic disease. Early detection and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is therefore important as a general strategy to monitor and prevent the development of overt metastatic disease. Furthermore, sequential analysis of CTCs can provide clinically relevant information on the effectiveness and progression of systemic therapies (e.g., chemo-, hormonal, or targeted therapies with antibodies or small inhibitors). Although many advances have been made regarding the detection and molecular characterization of CTCs, several challenges still exist that limit the current use of this important diagnostic approach. In this review, we discuss the biology of tumor cell dissemination, technical advances, as well as the challenges and potential clinical implications of CTC detection and characterization.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.