Chinen Ludmilla Thomé Domingos, Abdallah Emne Ali, Braun Alexcia Camila, Flores Bianca de Cássia Troncarelli de Campos Parra, Corassa Marcelo, Sanches Solange Moraes, Fanelli Marcello Ferretti
International Research Center, A. C. Camargo Cancer Center, Rua Taguá 440, São Paulo, SP, 01508-010, Brazil.
Department of Medical Oncology, A. C. Camargo Cancer Center, Rua Professor Antônio Prudente, São Paulo, SP, 01509-010, Brazil.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;994:1-41. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-55947-6_1.
It is believed that the development of metastatic cancer requires the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) , which are found in a patient's circulation as rare abnormal cells comingled with billions of the normal red and white blood cells. The systems developed for detection of CTCs have brought progress to cancer treatment. The molecular characterization of CTCs can aid in the development of new drugs, and their presence during treatment can help clinicians determine the prognosis of the patient. Studies have been carried out in patients early in the disease course, with only primary tumors, and the role of CTCs in prognosis seems to be as important as it is in patients with metastatic disease. The published studies on CTCs have focused on their prognostic significance, their utility in real-time monitoring of therapies, the identification of therapeutic and resistance targets, and understanding the process of metastasis . The analysis of CTCs during the early stages, as a "liquid biopsy," helps to monitor patients at different points in the disease course, including minimal residual disease, providing valuable information about the very early assessment of treatment effectiveness. Finally, CTCs can be used to screen patients with family histories of cancer or with diseases that can lead to the development of cancer. With standard protocols, this easily obtained and practical tool can be used to prevent the growth and spread of cancer. In this chapter, we review some important aspects of CTCs , surveying the disease aspects where these cells have been investigated.
人们认为转移性癌症的发展需要循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）的存在，这些细胞在患者的循环系统中作为罕见的异常细胞与数十亿正常的红细胞和白细胞混合在一起被发现。用于检测CTC的系统给癌症治疗带来了进展。CTC的分子特征有助于新药的研发，并且它们在治疗期间的存在可以帮助临床医生确定患者的预后。已在疾病病程早期仅有原发性肿瘤的患者中开展了研究，CTC在预后中的作用似乎与在转移性疾病患者中一样重要。已发表的关于CTC的研究集中在它们的预后意义、在治疗实时监测中的效用、治疗和耐药靶点的识别以及对转移过程的理解。在疾病早期阶段对CTC进行分析，作为一种“液体活检”，有助于在疾病病程的不同时间点监测患者，包括微小残留病，为治疗效果的早期评估提供有价值的信息。最后，CTC可用于筛查有癌症家族史或患有可能导致癌症发生的疾病的患者。通过标准方案，这种易于获取且实用的工具可用于预防癌症的生长和扩散。在本章中，我们回顾了CTC的一些重要方面，审视了对这些细胞进行研究的疾病方面。
