In recent years, the clinical application of circulating tumor cell (CTCs) detection has become one of the research hotspots in the field of precision medicine. CTCs detection is noninvasive, easy to obtain, can be repeatedly collected, and highly repeatable with other advantages. It not only can be a real-time comprehensive monitoring of cancer treatment but also can have a large number of applications, including early diagnosis of tumor, timely evaluation of efficacy, condition monitoring, resistance factor analysis, prognosis judgment, individualized treatment of tumors, drug guidance, and so on. At present, many large-scale clinical studies at home and abroad run through all stages of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. For different treatment stages of breast cancer, the application value of CTCs detection is different. Compared with traditional detection methods, CTCs have advantages in dynamic monitoring of disease changes and efficacy evaluation in real-time. In the era of breast cancer classificational and individualized treatment, CTCs detection can provide patients with the most timely and optimized treatment plan.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AshworthT. A case of cancer in which cells similar to those in the tumours were seen in the blood after death. Aust Med J, 1869; 14:146–149.
2.
FanL, Strasser-WeipplK, LiJ-J, et al.Breast cancer in China. Lancet Oncol, 2014; 15:e279–e289.
3.
GangopadhyayS, NandyA, HorP, MukhopadhyayA. Breast cancer stem cells: A novel therapeutic target. Clin Breast Cancer, 2013; 13:7–15.
4.
TalmadgeJE, FidlerIJ, RecamierJ, et al.AACR centennial series: The biology of cancer metastasis: Historical perspective. Cancer Res, 2010; 70:5649–69.
5.
Alix-PanabièresC, SchwarzenbachH, PantelK. Circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA. Annu Rev Med, 2012; 63:199–215.
6.
JoosseSA, PantelK. Biologic challenges in the detection of circulating tumor cells. Cancer Res, 2013; 73:8–11.
7.
Alix-PanabieresC, VendrellJ-P, PelleO, et al.Detection and characterization of putative metastatic precursor cells in cancer patients. Clin Chem, 2007; 53:537–9.
8.
PantelK, Alix-PanabieresC, RiethdorfS. Characterisation and monitoring of circulating tumour cells. Eur J Cancer Suppl, 2009; [Epub ahead of print]; DOI:10.1373/clinchem.2012.194258.
9.
Alix-PanabieresC, RiethdorfS, PantelK. Circulating tumor cells and bone marrow micrometastasis. Clin Cancer Res, 2008; 14:5013–21.
10.
KimMY, OskarssonT, AcharyyaS, et al.Tumor self-seeding by circulating cancer cells. Cell, 2009; 139:1315–26.
11.
BulfoniM, TurettaM, Del BenF, Di LoretoC, BeltramiAP, CesselliD. Dissecting the heterogeneity of circulating tumor cells in metastatic breast cancer: Going far beyond the needle in the Haystack. Int J Mol Sci, 2016; 17:1775.
12.
HouJM, KrebsM, WardT, et al.Circulating tumor cells, enumeration and beyond. Cancers (Basel), 2010; 2:1236–50.
13.
Alix-PanabièresC, PantelK. Technologies for detection of circulating tumor cells: Facts and vision. Lab Chip, 2014; 14:57-62.
14.
NagrathS, SequistLV, MaheswaranS, et al.Isolation of rare circulating tumour cells in cancer patients by microchip technology. Nature, 2007; 450:1235–9.
15.
SchwarzenbachH, NishidaN, CalinGA, PantelK. Clinical relevance of circulating cell-free microRNAs in cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol, 2014; 11:145–56.
16.
AcetoN, BardiaA, MiyamotoDT, et al.Circulating tumor cell clusters are oligoclonal precursors of breast cancer metastasis. Cell, 2014; 158:1110–22.
17.
LiP, MaoZ, PengZ, et al.Acoustic separation of circulating tumor cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2015; 112:4970–5.
18.
KrebsMG, MetcalfRL, CarterL, BradyG, BlackhallFH, DiveC. Molecular analysis of circulating tumour cells-biology and biomarkers. Nat Rev Clin Oncol, 2014; 11:129–44.
19.
SmallAC, GongY, OhWK, HallSJ, van RijnCJM, GalskyMD. The emerging role of circulating tumor cell detection in genitourinary cancer. J Urol, 2012; 188:21–6.
20.
Fernandez-CuestaL, PerdomoS, AvogbePH, et al.Identification of circulating tumor DNA for the early detection of small-cell lung cancer. EBio Med, 2016; 10:117–23.
21.
KinC, KidessE, PoultsidesGA, VisserBC, JeffreySS. Colorectal cancer diagnostics: Biomarkers, cell-free DNA, circulating tumor cells and defining heterogeneous populations by single-cell analysis. Expert Rev Mol Diagn, 2013; 13:581–99.
22.
LouX, QianJ, XiaoY, et al.Micromagnetic selection of aptamers in microfluidic channels. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2009; 106:2989–94.
LienKY, LiuCJ, LinYC, KuoPL, LeeGB. Extraction of genomic DNA and detection of single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping utilizing an integrated magnetic bead-based microfluidic platform. Microfluid Nanofluidics, 2009; 81:539–55.
25.
BurgerR, KurzbuchD, GorkinR, et al.An integrated centrifugo-opto-microfluidic platform for arraying, analysis, identification and manipulation of individual cells. Lab Chip, 2015; 15:378–81.
26.
WeaverJL. Introduction to flow cytometry. Methods, 2000; 21:199–201.
27.
RiccardiC, NicolettiI. Analysis of apoptosis by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry. Nat Protoc, 2006; 1:1458–61.
28.
BiggersB, KnoxS, GrantM, et al.Circulating tumor cells in patients undergoing surgery for primary breast cancer: Preliminary results of a pilot study. Ann Surg Oncol, 2009; 16:969–71.
29.
MengS, TripathyD, FrenkelEP, et al.Circulating tumor cells in patients with breast cancer dormancy. Clin Cancer Res, 2004; 10:8152–62.
30.
MurrayNP, MirandaR, RuizA, DroguettE. Diagnostic yield of primary circulating tumor cells in women suspected of breast cancer: The BEST (breast early screening test) study. Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev, 2015; 16:1929–34.
31.
MegoM, ManiSA, CristofanilliM. Molecular mechanisms of metastasis in breast cancer-clinical applications. Nat Rev Clin Oncol, 2010; 7:693–701.
32.
CristofanilliM. Circulating tumor cells, disease progression, and survival in metastatic breast cancer. Semin Oncol, 2006; 33:S9–S14.
33.
JordanNV, BardiaA, WittnerBS, et al.HER2 expression identifies dynamic functional states within circulating breast cancer cells. Nature, 2016; 537:102–106.
34.
PowellAA, TalasazAAH, ZhangH, et al.Single cell profiling of circulating tumor cells: Transcriptional heterogeneity and diversity from breast cancer cell lines. PLoS One, 2012; 7:e33788.
van DesselLF, BeijeN, HelmijrJCA, et al.Application of circulating tumor DNA in prospective clinical oncology trials—Standardization of preanalytical conditions. Mol Oncol, 2017; 11:295–304.
37.
TewesM, AktasB, WeltA, et al.Molecular profiling and predictive value of circulating tumor cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer: An option for monitoring response to breast cancer related therapies. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2009; 115:581–90.
38.
AllardWJ, MateraJ, MillerMC, et al.Tumor cells circulate in the peripheral blood of all major carcinomas but not in healthy subjects or patients with nonmalignant diseases. Clin Cancer Res, 2004; 10:6897–904.
39.
LianidouES, MarkouA. Circulating tumor cells as emerging tumor biomarkers in breast cancer. Clin Chem Lab Med, 2011; 49:1579–90.
40.
HarouakaR, KangZ, ZhengS-Y, CaoL. Circulating tumor cells: Advances in isolation and analysis, and challenges for clinical applications. Pharmacol Ther, 2014; 141:209–21.
41.
WeigelMT, DowsettM. Current and emerging biomarkers in breast cancer: Prognosis and prediction. Endocr Relat Cancer, 2010; 17:R245–62.
42.
JanniWJ, RackB, TerstappenLWMM, et al.Pooled analysis of the prognostic relevance of circulating tumor cells in primary breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res, 2016; 22:2583–93.
43.
LucciA, HallCS, LodhiAK, et al.Circulating tumour cells in non-metastatic breast cancer: A prospective study. Lancet Oncol, 2012; 13:688–95.
44.
AppleSK. Sentinel lymph node in breast cancer: Review article from a pathologist's point of view. J Pathol Transl Med, 2016; 50:83–95.
