Utility of circulating tumor cells and DNA in the management of advanced colorectal cancer.

Clinical management of colorectal cancer is challenging. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and DNA (ctDNA) are investigated to detect key mutation and for prognosis for risk stratifications. 200 advance-stage patients with metastatic disease were selected and followed-up. Serial blood draws were used to quantify CTCs and ctDNA. Both CTCs and ctDNA are strongly associated with colorectal cancer patients. The positive predictive values were 96.5 and 96.3% among CTCs and ctDNA, respectively, for all 200 patients using mutation. Specificity for healthy controls was 100%. As a prognosis indicator, results demonstrated that patients who had positive CTCs and plasma DNA had worse outcomes. Blood-based assessment of colorectal cancer shows promising results in early-risk stratifications.