Circulating tumor cells are low-frequency cells that are shed into the peripheral bloodstream from a primary solid tumor and/or metastasis. Although these cells were recognized initially in 1869, it is only in the past 2 decades that they have been isolated for use as a surrogate biomarker to monitor response to therapy, evaluate prognosis, detect tumor mutations, assist in selecting personalized medicine, and enable earlier cancer diagnosis.
Keywords: circulating tumor cells; early diagnosis; enrichment; heterogeneity; personalized treatment; prognostic evaluation; response to therapy.
© The Author(s) 2015.