Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cells
that have shed into the vasculature or lymphatics from a primary tumor and are
carried around the body in the circulation. CTCs thus constitute seeds for the
subsequent growth of additional tumors (metastases) in vital distant organs,
triggering a mechanism that is responsible for the vast majority of
cancer-related deaths. Modern cancer research has demonstrated that CTCs derive
from clones in the primary tumor. The significant efforts put into
understanding the CTCs biological properties have demonstrated the critical
role circulating tumor cells play in the metastatic spread of carcinoma.
Furthermore, highly sensitive, single-cell analysis demonstrated a high level
of heterogeneity seen at the single cell level for both protein expression and
protein localization and the CTCs reflected both the primary biopsy and the
changes seen in the metastatic sites. Tissue biopsies are poor diagnostic
procedures: they are invasive, cannot be used repeatedly, and are ineffective
in understanding metastatic risk, disease progression, and treatment
effectiveness. CTCs thus could be considered a “liquid biopsy” which reveals
metastasis in action, providing live information about the patient’s disease status.
In the present book, fifteen typical
literatures about circulating tumor cells published on international
authoritative journals were selected to introduce the worldwide newest
progress, which contains reviews or original researches on medical science,
oncology, anatomical pathology, biopsy, ect. We hope this book can demonstrate
advances in circulating tumor cells as well as give references to the
researchers, students and other related people.