Circulating tumor cells are tumor cells found circulating in the blood that come from a primary tumor. Circulating tumor cells have utility in clinical applications, including genomic analysis of cancer cells and monitoring the progression or recurrence of cancer. Since circulating tumor cells are usually collected through a blood sample, this method is relatively noninvasive compared with traditional tissue biopsies.
Research presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (held December 6–10, 2022) suggests that a count of circulating tumor cells could help clinicians decide between chemotherapy and endocrine therapy as first-line treatment for certain types of breast cancer.
Using circulating tumor cell (CTC) count to decide between first-line treatments provided an overall survival benefit for patients with metastatic, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer when compared to the physician’s choice of treatment.
Comments are closed.