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BMC Medicine
Published in: BMC Medicine 1/2011

Open Access 01-12-2011 | Minireview

Circulating tumor cells in breast cancer: A tool whose time has come of age

Authors: Ramona F Swaby, Massimo Cristofanilli

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2011

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Abstract

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are isolated tumor cells disseminated from the site of disease in metastatic and/or primary cancers, including breast cancer, that can be identified and measured in the peripheral blood of patients. As recent technical advances have rendered it easier to reproducibly and repeatedly sample this population of cells with a high degree of accuracy, these cells represent an attractive surrogate marker of the site of disease.
Currently, CTCs are being integrated into clinical trial design as a surrogate for phenotypic and genotypic markers in correlation with development of molecularly targeted therapies. As CTCs play a crucial role in tumor dissemination, translational research is implicating CTCs in several biological processes, including epithelial to mesenchymal transition. In this mini-review, we review CTCs in metastatic breast cancer, and discuss their clinical utility for assessing prognosis and monitoring response to therapy. We will also introduce their utility in pharmacodynamic monitoring for rational selection of molecularly targeted therapies and briefly address how they can help elucidate the biology of cancer metastasis.
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Metadata
Title
Circulating tumor cells in breast cancer: A tool whose time has come of age
Authors
Ramona F Swaby
Massimo Cristofanilli
Publication date
01-12-2011
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2011
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-9-43

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