Circulating Tumor Cells and Extracellular Nucleic Acids in Breast Cancer.
- Author:
Dong Won RYU
1
;
Chung Han LEE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: Breast cancer; Circulating tumor cells; Extracellular nucleic acids
- MeSH: Breast; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Size; Humans; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; Nucleic Acids; Prognosis
- From:Kosin Medical Journal 2012;27(1):1-9
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are defined as tumor cells circulating in the peripheral blood of patients, shed from either the primary tumor or from its metastases. The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients may account for the different steps in the biologic progression of the disease. The detection of microscopic disease in patients with breast cancer is imperative to prognosis and can predict the efficacy of targeted treatments. In general, there are two main methods for their detection. These are based on cytometric and nucleic acid manipulation. Both methods generally require an enrichment step to increase sensitivity of the assay. This step is based on either detection of specific surface markers using immuno-selection and/or on morphological features, such as cell size or density. We review the methods of detecting CTCs, their prognostic implications, and opportunities to exploit the properties of CTCs to develop personalized therapy.
