Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center - Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Groene Hilledijk 301, 3075 EA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Drug Discov Today. 2012 Jul;17(13-14):710-7. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2012.01.011. Epub 2012 Jan 24.
Given the importance of tumor vasculature in tumor biology and as a target for treatment, there is an increasing need for biomarkers that reflect effects impacting tumor vasculature accurately. Circulating endothelial cells (CECs) increase in number as a result of vascular damage in cancer and several other diseases. CEC count constitutes a promising tool for monitoring disease activity with potential to assess prognosis and response to treatment. Here, we address the current state-of-the-art of CEC enumeration as a biomarker in clinical oncology. We focus on technical issues concerning CEC detection, review results from clinical studies and explore future potential applications.
鉴于肿瘤血管在肿瘤生物学中的重要性以及作为治疗靶点的重要性，越来越需要能够准确反映影响肿瘤血管的生物标志物。循环内皮细胞（CEC）数量因癌症和其他几种疾病的血管损伤而增加。CEC 计数是一种很有前途的监测疾病活动的工具，具有评估预后和治疗反应的潜力。在这里，我们讨论了 CEC 计数作为临床肿瘤学中生物标志物的最新进展。我们关注 CEC 检测的技术问题，回顾临床研究结果，并探索未来的潜在应用。
