Several studies conducted over the past decade have shown that Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be used as a marker for predicting disease progression and survival in patients with early or metastatic cancer. A high number of CTCs correlate with aggressive disease, increased metastasis and decreased survival rates.
Knowledge of metastasis mechanisms was mainly obtained from mouse models with CTCs after orthotopic transplants. The only possibility to study the patient’s CTC subpopulations is to carry out ex-vivo expansion and develop an animal model with CTC xenograft. Because circulating blood collection is simple and non-invasive, CTCs can be used as a marker to track disease progression and survival in real time. CTCs could also guide therapeutic choice.
