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. 2014 Sep;6(3):146-153.
doi: 10.1007/s12609-014-0149-9.

The Evolving Role of Circulating Tumor Cells in the Personalized Management of Breast Cancer: from Enumeration to Molecular Characterization

Sasmit Sarangi  1 , Kailash Mosulpuria  2 , Michaela J Higgins  1 , Aditya Bardia  1
Affiliations

The Evolving Role of Circulating Tumor Cells in the Personalized Management of Breast Cancer: from Enumeration to Molecular Characterization

Sasmit Sarangi et al. Curr Breast Cancer Rep. 2014 Sep.

Abstract

Circulating Tumor cells (CTCs) represent tumor cells in the blood stream dislodged from the primary tumor. The presence of CTCs in the bloodstream provides a unique opportunity to sample cancer tissue by means of a relatively less-invasive "liquid biopsy." Over the past decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the amount of research examining the potential clinical utility of CTCs in the management of cancer. A number of techniques to refine the sensitivity and range of CTC assays are also in development. In this article, we review the recent developments in the current and potential clinical applications of CTCs in breast cancer. CTC enumeration already has an established role as a prognostic biomarker in metastatic breast cancer, while molecular characterization of CTCs can serve as a potential predictive biomarker for therapy selection, pharmacodynamic evaluation, and identification of novel actionable targets for novel therapies. The role of CTCs in breast cancer screening and detection of recurrence is currently limited. Further development in techniques will be pivotal in enhancing the broad applicability of CTCs and advancing the field of personalized breast cancer therapy.

Keywords: breast cancer; circulating tumor cells; molecular characterization; personalized medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Sasmit Sarangi, Kailash Mosulpuria, Michaela J. Higgins, Aditya Bardia have nothing to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schema outlining how molecular characterization of CTCs can potentially be utilized for selection of therapy, to monitor pharmacodynamic response, and identification of novel actionable targets in metastatic breast cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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