Crista E. Horton,Humza  Razaq,
Evaluating the Potential for Circulating Tumor Cells as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker in Various Cancer Types
Clinical Oncology and Cancer Biology
2020
2733-2276
http://dx.doi.org/10.31487/j.COCB.2020.01.05
https://www.sciencerepository.org/evaluating-the-potential-for-circulating-tumor-cells-as-a-diagnostic_COCB-2020-1-105 
Abstract: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cells that can be found circulating in the peripheral blood of cancer
patients. They originate from primary solid tumors and are thought to contribute to metastases and poor
prognosis. Since cancer treatment is shifting toward greater personalization, a major goal in the field is the
development of less invasive and more cost-effective measures in diagnosis, staging, treatment, prognostic
implications, and surveillance of cancer. Utilizing CTCs as a biomarker from a “liquid biopsy” or sample
of patients’ blood would be transformative in accomplishing this goal. In this review, we aim to critically
assess current pre-clinical and clinical literature over the past two decades implicating CTCs’ potential for
use as a predictive biomarker in various cancer types either in addition to or instead of current standards of
care. We also are interested in understanding several aspects of CTCs including the role CTCs play in
resistance to treatment, the immune system evasion properties of CTCs, the feasibility of using CTCs in
clinical practice, and the utility of CTCs for predicting outcomes including patient survival. Furthermore,
here we discuss gaps in the literature, limitations of CTCs, potential for their other uses, as well as the
significance of CTC detection in patients following surgery.Keywords: Circulating tumor cells, cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, biomarker, prognostic biomarker, liquid biopsy, tumor biomarker