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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

Orthotopic Transplantation of Breast Tumors as Preclinical Models for Breast Cancer
Published on: May 18, 2020
Circulating Tumor Cells in Early Breast Cancer
Laura Thery1, Alessandra Meddis2, Luc Cabel1,3,4
1Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Curie, Paris and Saint Cloud, France.
Abstract:
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are particularly rare in non-metastatic breast cancer, and the clinical validity of CTC detection in that clinical setting was initially not well recognized. A cytological CTC detection device (CellSearch) fulfilling the CLIA requirements for analytical validity was subsequently developed and, in 2008, we reported the first study (REMAGUS02) showing that distant metastasis-free survival was shorter in early breast cancer patients with one or more CTCs. In the past 10 years, other clinical studies and meta-analyses have established CTC detection as a level-of-evidence 1 prognostic biomarker for local relapses, distant relapses, and overall survival. This review summarizes available data on CTC detection and the promises of this proliferation- and subtype-independent metastasis-associated biomarker in early breast cancer patients.
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