Disseminated and circulating tumor cells for monitoring chemotherapy in urological tumors

Abstract

This review focused on technical advancements in the detection of CTCs/DTCs in urogenital cancer. Most of the established methods of circulating tumor cell enrichment use density-gradient centrifugation and immunomagnetic procedures. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is another detection technique. Novel methods, the CTC chip and the epithelial immunospot (EPISPOT) assay, have already shown promising results. For localized and metastatic prostate cancer, significant correlations between CTCs/DTCs and well-established indicators of disease activity have been demonstrated. Furthermore, various studies support the prognostic relevance of CTCs in metastatic bladder and renal cell carcinoma patients. Advanced technologies offer new options for estimating the risk of progression after curative-intended surgery and may allow a more effective monitoring of disease progression or response to therapy.