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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Adaptation of Semiautomated Circulating Tumor Cell CTC Assays for Clinical and Preclinical Research Applications
Published on: February 28, 2014
Circulating tumor cells in the clinical cancer diagnosis
1Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 29 Xinglong Alley, Changzhou, 213000, China.
Abstract:
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 blood circulation. CTCs undergo a series of migration, adhesion and aggregation to form metastases, leading to post-operative recurrence and metastasis in patients with malignant tumors. The detection and analysis of CTCs, as a new non-invasive diagnostic tool, plays an important role in tumor diagnosis, therapeutic efficacy, monitoring recurrence, prognosis assessment and tumor precision medical treatment.
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