Amadori A, Rossi E, Zamarchi R, Carli P, Pastorelli D, Jirillo A
Istituto Oncologico Veneto IRCCS, Padova, Italy.
Oncology. 2009;76(6):375-86. doi: 10.1159/000215581. Epub 2009 Apr 30.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Although survival rates have improved with the use of new therapeutic agents, many issues remain unresolved and new predictive and prognostic factors are needed in clinical practice. Several studies have suggested a prognostic and predictive role for circulating and disseminated tumor cells in metastatic disease and adjuvant treatment. Because of recent technological advances, oncologists have gained a new perspective on this disease. Circulating tumor cells could be both a new tumor marker as well as a tool to gain novel insight into the natural history of this neoplastic disease.
乳腺癌是女性中最常见的癌症。尽管使用新的治疗药物后生存率有所提高，但许多问题仍未得到解决，临床实践中需要新的预测和预后因素。几项研究表明，循环肿瘤细胞和播散肿瘤细胞在转移性疾病和辅助治疗中具有预后和预测作用。由于最近的技术进步，肿瘤学家对这种疾病有了新的认识。循环肿瘤细胞既可以作为一种新的肿瘤标志物，也可以作为一种工具，用于深入了解这种肿瘤性疾病的自然史。
