Challenges in circulating tumour cell research

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are the subject of many published papers, but the diversity of assays used for their analysis can be daunting. This Opinion article discusses issues regarding the detection and characterization of CTCs, and poses the major outstanding questions in this field. During t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature reviews. Cancer Vol. 14; no. 9; pp. 623 - 631
Main Authors Alix-Panabières, Catherine, Pantel, Klaus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.09.2014
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
631/67/1857
631/67/322
Biomarkers, Tumor - analysis
Biomedicine
Blood cells
Breast cancer
Cancer Research
Development and progression
Humans
Neoplasm Proteins - analysis
Neoplastic Cells, Circulating
opinion-2
Patient outcomes
Physiological aspects
Stem cells
Tumors
United States
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Summary:Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are the subject of many published papers, but the diversity of assays used for their analysis can be daunting. This Opinion article discusses issues regarding the detection and characterization of CTCs, and poses the major outstanding questions in this field. During the past ten years, circulating tumour cells (CTCs) have received enormous attention as new biomarkers and the subject of basic research. Although CTCs are already used in numerous clinical trials, their clinical utility is still under investigation. Many issues regarding the detection and characterization of CTCs remain unknown. In this Opinion article, we propose a conceptual framework of CTC assays and point out current challenges of CTC research, which might structure this dynamic field of translational cancer research.
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ISSN:1474-175X
1474-1768
1474-1768
DOI:10.1038/nrc3820