Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Tuebingen, Germany.
Biomark Med. 2012 Feb;6(1):109-18. doi: 10.2217/bmm.11.106.
The detection of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow is a common phenomenon seen in 30-40% of primary breast cancer patients. The presence of disseminated tumor cells at diagnosis as well as the persistence of disseminated tumor cells is strongly associated with poor clinical outcome. Since bone marrow biopsies are not well tolerated by many patients, the evaluation of circulating tumor cells in the blood might become a desired alternative. Circulating tumor cells are routinely detected, depending on stage of the disease and methodology, in 10-80% of breast cancer patients. Recent studies have shown a prognostic potential of circulating tumor cells in both primary and metastatic settings. The evaluation of circulating tumor cells may become one of the crucial markers for prediction of survival and therapy monitoring, and its characterization might enable specific targeting of minimal residual, and metastatic disease.
骨髓中播散肿瘤细胞的检测在 30-40%的原发性乳腺癌患者中是一种常见现象。诊断时存在播散性肿瘤细胞以及播散性肿瘤细胞的持续存在与不良临床结局密切相关。由于骨髓活检对许多患者来说难以耐受，因此评估血液中的循环肿瘤细胞可能成为一种理想的替代方法。根据疾病的分期和方法，循环肿瘤细胞在 10-80%的乳腺癌患者中常规检测。最近的研究表明，循环肿瘤细胞在原发性和转移性疾病中具有预后潜力。循环肿瘤细胞的评估可能成为预测生存和治疗监测的关键标志物之一，其特征分析可能使最小残留和转移性疾病的靶向治疗成为可能。
