Pathology of circulating tumor cells and the available capture tools (Review)

Abstract

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), are tumor cells that diffuse into the circulating blood and serve an important role in the progress of cancer. During the early stages of cancer, CTCs undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transition and obtain a more invasive phenotype. Subsequently, the tumor cells enter the circulating blood with the aid of immune cells, and enter a dormant state upon reaching distal organs. As the tumor progresses, metastasis may occur under certain conditions. The capture technologies available for CTCs are based on antibody-based capture, or capture based on the physical properties of CTCs, as well as modern technologies that integrate both these methods. Emerging modern technologies have increased the accuracy and efficiency of tumor cell capture, and have thus improved our understanding of tumor cells, and the molecular mechanisms underlying their properties. CTCs serve an important role in disease progression, prediction of patient prognosis and individualized treatment. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Physiological processes of CTCs 3. Isolation and detection of CTCs 4. CTC associated research methods 5. Conclusion

The prognostic value of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and CTC white blood cell clusters in patients with renal cell carcinoma

“…In clinical applications, CTCs are often used as a “liquid biopsy” method for tumour screening, patient prognosis, and disease monitoring [ 6 ]. The clinical analysis of CTCs has also developed from the initial quantitative typing of CTCs to a comprehensive analysis of CTCs combined with multiple indicators and multiple detection methods [ 6 ].…”

“…Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are tumour cells shed from solid tumours that enter the circulating blood and are transferred to remote organs. They are considered the seeds of tumour metastasis and recurrence and can be used as various tumour metastasis and prognostic indicators [6]. However, due to the scarcity and heterogeneity of CTCs, their predictive value is limited [7].…”

Role of Exosomal miRNA in Bladder Cancer: A Promising Liquid Biopsy Biomarker

“…The main liquid biopsy biomarkers of BCa include CTCs, ctDNA, and exosomes from the blood and urine. CTCs are tumor cells that originate from the tumor site and diffuse into the bloodstream, representing the main mechanism for metastasis [9,10]. The presence of CTCs has been identified as a predictive indicator of BCa prognosis and disease stratification [11][12][13][14][15].…”

Identification of key genes and functions of circulating tumor cells in multiple cancers through bioinformatic analysis

“…CTCs play a key role in the metastasis of cancer, with the development of new detection technologies in recent years, the enrichment and detection of CTCs have been improved, making CTCs a key object in tumor research [ 4 , 12 ]. In this study, the genetic chip results of CTCs from different cancer sources were obtained through the GEO database, and gene expression and PPI networks were analyzed through bioinformatics tools.…”

“…CTCs have the characteristics of rarity and heterogeneity, which once restricted the researches of CTCs [ 3 ]. Nowadays, with the development of technology, not only can CTCs be captured and enriched, but also they can be identified at the molecular level, which greatly improves the clinical application value of CTCs, and provides potential possible for the prognosis of tumor patients and personalized treatment [ 4 ]. In this article, we analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between CTCs and primary tumors through the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and use Gene Ontology (GO) / Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment tools, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis tools, and Kaplan–Meier plotter tools to analyze cell biological process, cellular component, molecular function, biological pathways, protein interactions, and clinical prognosis.…”