Werner Stefan, Stenzl Arnulf, Pantel Klaus, Todenhöfer Tilman
Department of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Department of Urology, Eberhard-Karls-University, Teubingen, Germany.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;994:205-228. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-55947-6_11.
The characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTC) has the potential not only to provide important insights into molecular alterations of advanced tumor disease but also to facilitate risk prediction. Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been discovered as important process for the development of metastases and the dissemination of tumor cells into the blood stream. In different tumor types, CTC with a mesenchymal phenotype have been reported that have presumably underwent EMT. Moreover, CTC with stem-cell like characteristics have been postulated as important drivers of tumor progression. Different platforms have been introduced to allow CTC enrichment independent of expression of epithelial antigens, as these may be downregulated in EMT- or stem-cell-like CTC. Both for CTCs with EMT- or stem-cell features different markers have been proposed. However, there is still a lack of evidence on the association of these markers with functional features and characteristics for stem cells and cells undergoing EMT.
循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）的特征不仅有可能为深入了解晚期肿瘤疾病的分子改变提供重要见解，还能促进风险预测。上皮-间质转化（EMT）已被发现是转移发生以及肿瘤细胞扩散进入血流的重要过程。在不同肿瘤类型中，已有报道称存在具有间质表型的CTC，推测这些细胞经历了EMT。此外，具有干细胞样特征的CTC被认为是肿瘤进展的重要驱动因素。已引入不同平台以实现独立于上皮抗原表达的CTC富集，因为这些抗原在具有EMT或干细胞样特征的CTC中可能下调。对于具有EMT或干细胞特征的CTC，都提出了不同的标志物。然而，关于这些标志物与干细胞及经历EMT的细胞的功能特征之间的关联，仍然缺乏证据。
