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Metastasis02:30

Metastasis

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Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells from the original site to distant locations in the body. Cancer cells can spread via blood vessels (hematogenous) as well as lymph vessels in the body.
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
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Summary

Liquid biopsy offers real-time breast cancer monitoring, overcoming tissue biopsy limitations. This review addresses challenges in isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for improved clinical application.

Keywords:
CTC clustersCTCsbody fluidsbreast cancerliquid biopsy

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Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Breast cancer is a leading global neoplasm in women.
  • Tissue biopsy, the standard for tumor molecular data, is invasive and may miss disease evolution due to heterogeneity.
  • Liquid biopsy offers non-invasive, real-time monitoring of disease progression, treatment response, and tumor heterogeneity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review technical and biological challenges in isolating and characterizing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from breast cancer patients.
  • To address issues like lymphocyte background, CTC subtype differentiation, and frozen sample handling.
  • To consolidate the clinical use of CTCs by optimizing protocols and standardizing methodologies.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of technical and biological challenges in CTC isolation and characterization.
  • Review of existing clinical studies on CTC enumeration and prognostic value.
  • Discussion of strategies to optimize sample extraction, circulating tumor material isolation (CTCs vs. ctDNA), and diverse methodologies.

Main Results:

  • CTC enumeration holds prognostic value in numerous clinical studies.
  • Significant technical challenges remain in CTC isolation, including background noise, subtype identification, and sample preservation.
  • Standardization of protocols and diverse methodologies are crucial for clinical consolidation of CTCs.

Conclusions:

  • Liquid biopsy, combining CTCs and ctDNA, provides a dynamic view of breast cancer.
  • Overcoming technical hurdles in CTC isolation is essential for their broader clinical adoption.
  • Exploring CTCs in other body fluids and investigating CTC clusters are promising future directions for metastatic breast cancer management.