Circulating Tumor Cells: A Window to Understand Cancer Metastasis, Monitor and Fight Against Cancers
Pages 13-29
Lei Xu, Jonathan Shamash and Yong-Jie Lu

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/1929-2279.2015.04.01.2

Published: 19 February 2015

Abstract: Metastases are the major culprits behind most cancer-related death and the central challenge to the eradication of a malignancy. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have the potential to help us understand how metastases form, to be utilized for cancer diagnosis and treatment selection and even to be targeted for cancer treatment. Many advances have been made regarding the isolation of these rare cells. However, several challenges and limitations in CTC analysis still exist. Multiple color immunofluorescence, genetic analysis (e.g. Fluorescence in situ Hybridization, microarray and next generation sequencing) and CTC culture will be effective tools to study CTCs and provide information on metastatic mechanism and clinical implication. In this review, we discuss the importance of CTC study in understanding cancer metastasis and their potential clinical application as biomarkers to predict cancer progression and treatment response, as well as the current situation for CTC isolation and analysis.