Pantel Klaus, Brakenhoff Ruud H, Brandt Burkhard
Institute of Tumour Biology, Center of Experimental Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, Hamburg, Germany.
Nat Rev Cancer. 2008 May;8(5):329-40. doi: 10.1038/nrc2375.
Most cancer deaths are caused by haematogenous metastatic spread and subsequent growth of tumour cells at distant organs. Disseminating tumour cells present in the peripheral blood and bone marrow can now be detected and characterized at the single-cell level. These cells are highly relevant to the study of the biology of early metastatic spread and provide a diagnostic source in patients with overt metastases. Here we review the evidence that disseminating tumour cells have a variety of uses for understanding tumour biology and improving cancer treatment.
大多数癌症死亡是由血行转移扩散以及随后肿瘤细胞在远处器官生长所致。现在可以在单细胞水平检测和鉴定外周血和骨髓中存在的播散肿瘤细胞。这些细胞与早期转移扩散生物学的研究高度相关，并为有明显转移的患者提供了一种诊断来源。在此，我们综述相关证据，即播散肿瘤细胞在理解肿瘤生物学和改善癌症治疗方面有多种用途。
