循环肿瘤细胞检测技术的研究进展

Research progress of peripheral circulating tumor cells detection technology

癌转移是肿瘤相关死亡的主要原因,外周血循环肿瘤细胞是癌症转移的一个重要中间步骤,这一过程也是疾病从局部到全身的一个体现。早期检测和识别循环肿瘤细胞(CTCs)在预防肿瘤发展为明显转移灶中具有重要意义。此外,动态检测CTCs可以在肿瘤的疗效和进展方面提供重要信息。目前尽管有关CTCs的检测方法很多,但是仍面临许多问题,笔者主要讨论目前CTCs的检测技术及面临的挑战。

Cancer metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related death, and dissemination of tumor cells through the blood circulation is an important intermediate step that also exemplifies the switch from localized to systemic disease. Early detection and characterization of circulating tumor cells （ CTCs ） is therefore important as a general strategy to monitor and prevent the development of overt metastatic disease. Furthermore, sequential analysis of CTCs can provide clinically relevant information on the effectiveness and progression of systemic therapies.Although many advances have been made regarding the detection of CTCs, several challenges still exist that limit the current use of this important diagnostic approach. In this review, we will mainly discuss the technical advances, as well as the challenges of CTC detection and characterization.