The proved association between the circulating tumor cell （CTC） levels and the patients＇ survival parameters has been growing interest to investigate the molecular profile of these neoplastic cells among which hide...The proved association between the circulating tumor cell （CTC） levels and the patients＇ survival parameters has been growing interest to investigate the molecular profile of these neoplastic cells among which hide out precursors capable of initiating a new distant metastatic lesion. The full characterization of the tumor cells in peripheral blood of cancer patients is expected to be of help for understanding and （prospectively） for counteracting the metastatic process. The major hitch that is hampering the successful gaining of this result is the lack of a consensus onto standard operating procedures （SOPs） for performing what we generally define as the ＂liquid biopsy＂. Here we review the more recent acquisitions in the analysis of CTCs and tumor related nucleic acids, looking to the main open questions that are hampering their definitive employ in the routine clinical practice.展开更多
基金EU,Specific Programme "Cooperation"- Theme "Health",Call identifier:FP7-HEALTH-2012INNOVATION-1,Proposal No:305341-2,Acronym: CTCtrap(R Zamarchi)Italian Ministry of Health,Proposal No:#GR-2010-2303193A+1 种基金"Individualized treatments of patients with advanced NSCLC:potential application for CTCs molecular and phenotypcal profiling",(PI:E Rossi) Intramural "5×1000 IOV-Translational Oncology:from benchtop to bedside",Proposal No:DGRV 2980/12(R Zamarchi)
文摘The proved association between the circulating tumor cell （CTC） levels and the patients＇ survival parameters has been growing interest to investigate the molecular profile of these neoplastic cells among which hide out precursors capable of initiating a new distant metastatic lesion. The full characterization of the tumor cells in peripheral blood of cancer patients is expected to be of help for understanding and （prospectively） for counteracting the metastatic process. The major hitch that is hampering the successful gaining of this result is the lack of a consensus onto standard operating procedures （SOPs） for performing what we generally define as the ＂liquid biopsy＂. Here we review the more recent acquisitions in the analysis of CTCs and tumor related nucleic acids, looking to the main open questions that are hampering their definitive employ in the routine clinical practice.
