Review
Oncology
Huikai Zhang, Fanen Yuan, Yangzhi Qi, Baohui Liu, Qianxue Chen
Summary: Liquid biopsy has been applied in various cancers but little progress has been made in validating circulating biomarkers for brain malignancies. Data on circulating tumor cells in glioma are limited, and their application as a biomarker has just begun.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ophthalmology
Jasmine H. Francis, Christopher A. Barker, A. Rose Brannon, Julia Canestraro, Melissa Robbins, Christina E. Swartzwelder, Sara Levine, Crystal Law, Michael F. Berger, Alexander Shoushtari, David H. Abramson
Summary: This study aims to investigate the presence of plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with uveal melanoma during and after primary tumor treatment. The study found that ctDNA was significantly more detectable at 48 to 72 hours after plaque brachytherapy compared with less than 48 hours, and ctDNA can also be detected during enucleation. Relative increases in ctDNA levels may herald the development of clinically apparent metastases.
INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Lei Xing, Xing Wan, Ming-Tao Yu, Yu-Jing He, Yi Wang, Tian-Jiao Zhou, Xiao-Ying Liu, Ying Sun, Jun Luo, Wen-Jia Wang, Hu-Lin Jiang
Summary: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play a significant role in predicting the overall survival and progression-free survival of cancer patients. However, current CTCs separation and enrichment techniques have limitations in comprehensively profiling CTC distribution and reducing metastasis. Inspired by hemodialysis, a whole blood purifier (WBP) was designed to capture, enrich and remove CTCs from systemic blood circulation, without causing any organic damages. This approach achieves the high accuracy of liquid biopsy technology and has the potential to be an effective clinical adjuvant therapy for tumor metastasis.
BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Jouni Kujala, Jaana M. Hartikainen, Maria Tengstrom, Reijo Sironen, Paivi Auvinen, Veli-Matti Kosma, Arto Mannermaa
Summary: The study evaluated the concordance between cfDNA and tumor DNA genetic profiles, showing that liquid biopsy can reflect the heterogeneity and clonal evolution of BC, potentially identifying driver variants and therapeutic targets that may be missed in tumor DNA sequencing. Liquid biopsy may aid in the early detection of metastatic BC and support clinical decision-making, despite observed discordance between the two sources of DNA.
Review
Oncology
Isabel Heidrich, Thaer S. A. Abdalla, Matthias Reeh, Klaus Pantel
Summary: Colorectal cancer is a common malignancy with high mortality rates, often due to tumor cells spreading through the blood. Liquid biopsy, which analyzes circulating tumor cells and cell-free DNA in the blood, offers new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities for colorectal cancer patients. It has the potential to improve early detection, monitor disease progression, and guide personalized treatment strategies.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zixin Feng, Junyu Wu, Yuanjun Lu, Yau-Tuen Chan, Cheng Zhang, Di Wang, Dan Luo, Yuan Huang, Yibin Feng, Ning Wang
Summary: Cancer is a severe disease with high morbidity and mortality globally. Early detection is crucial for successful treatment, but remains challenging. Various screening methods are widely used, but each has limitations and potential harms. Liquid biopsy is a convenient and non-invasive approach for early tumor screening and diagnosis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Jialing Liu, Jingru Lian, Yafei Chen, Xin Zhao, ChangZheng Du, Yang Xu, Hailiang Hu, Hai Rao, Xin Hong
Summary: Late-stage cancer metastasis is incurable in the clinic and is the leading cause of death in patients. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), considered to be metastatic precursors shed from primary tumors, present challenges in isolation and characterization. Despite these difficulties, recent advancements in CTC isolation and culture techniques show promise for potential use as non-invasive biomarkers in predicting therapeutic response.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Anthony Lucci, Sridevi Addanki, Yi-Ju Chiang, Salyna Meas, Vanessa N. N. Sarli, Joshua R. R. Upshaw, Mayank Manchem, Sapna P. P. Patel, Jennifer A. A. Wargo, Jeffrey E. E. Gershenwald, Merrick I. I. Ross
Summary: This study investigated the frequency and timing of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detection in melanoma patients before radiologic detection of disease progression. Results from 325 stage III melanoma patients showed that CTCs were detected in 76% of patients who eventually had disease recurrence/metastasis, with a median detection time of 9 months before imaging confirmation. This finding provides a basis for future studies using CTCs to stratify melanoma patients based on risk.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Zicheng Deng, Shengming Wu, Yilong Wang, Donglu Shi
Summary: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play a crucial role in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Current detection technologies have limitations due to tumor heterogeneity, but a new technique using superparamagnetic nanoprobe shows higher sensitivity and biomarker independence.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Julianne D. Twomey, Baolin Zhang
Summary: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are the source of metastasis and can be used as a liquid biopsy for monitoring cancer progression and treatment response. However, accurately detecting CTCs has been challenging due to their low frequency and heterogeneity. In this study, an in vitro model of CTCs was developed using non-adherent suspension culture to study breast cancer cell lines of different molecular subtypes. It was found that detached breast cancer cells accumulated cancer stem cells (CSCs) expressing stem cell markers and exhibiting high expressions of hypoxia-inducible gene products, especially CAIX. Inhibiting CAIX activity reduced CAIX expression and stem cell phenotypes in the targeted CTCs.
Article
Oncology
Christine Nitschke, Benedikt Markmann, Marie Tolle, Jolanthe Kropidlowski, Yassine Belloum, Mara R. Goetz, Hartmut Schluter, Marcel Kwiatkowski, Marianne Sinn, Jakob Izbicki, Klaus Pantel, Cenap Gungor, Faik G. Uzunoglu, Harriet Wikman
Summary: This study used a microfluidic-based approach to detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and assessed the expression of retinoic acid receptor responder 1 (RARRES1) on CTCs for the first time. The results showed that the detection rate of CTCs was higher during follow-up, and high CTC counts during follow-up in resected patients were associated with early tumor relapse. Combining CTC detection and RARRES1 expression could predict a worse prognosis in patients after curative operation during follow-up.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Chaithanya Chelakkot, Hobin Yang, Young Kee Shin
Summary: Shedding cancer cells from the primary site or bone marrow into the circulatory system and their subsequent formation of secondary metastatic lesions is a key feature of invasive cancers. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), found either as single cells or clusters, carry valuable information and have the potential to predict cancer prognosis, progression, and guide tailored therapies.
Article
Oncology
Sungun Bang, Dongju Won, Saeam Shin, Kang Su Cho, Jae Won Park, Jongsoo Lee, Young Deuk Choi, Suwan Kang, Seung-Tae Lee, Jong Rak Choi, Hyunho Han
Summary: In our study, we discovered genetic mutations in the DNA of cancer cells obtained from the blood of metastatic prostate cancer patients. These mutations were more common in patients with aggressive and progressing cancer that did not respond to conventional treatment. Compared to the traditional method of measuring prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, these genetic mutations were more sensitive in detecting prostate cancer progression. This suggests that a simple blood test could be used to track genetic mutations, identify aggressive cancer subtypes, monitor disease progression, and improve the management of advanced prostate cancer.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Chengjun Zhu, Jing Xu, Jinyu Sun, Shiyun Cui, Yue Sun, Tao Yu, Cenzhu Wang, Tianyao Wang, Yufeng Wu, Feng Ju, Jiafeng Yao, Kai Liu, Wenwen Zhang, Xiaoxiang Guan
Summary: This study investigates the association between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and breast cancer metastasis. The results show that CTC enumeration is significantly associated with liver metastasis in breast cancer patients, and CTCs >= 5 are a risk factor for tumor metastasis. Furthermore, high CTC levels may be associated with an increased risk of liver metastasis in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Elisabeth K. Trapp, Peter A. Fasching, Tanja Fehm, Andreas Schneeweiss, Volkmar Mueller, Nadia Harbeck, Ralf Lorenz, Claudia Schumacher, Georg Heinrich, Fabienne Schochter, Amelie de Gregorio, Marie Tzschaschel, Brigitte Rack, Wolfgang Janni, Thomas W. P. Friedl
Summary: Breast cancer survivors have increased in number, but follow-up guidelines have remained unchanged for years. This study examines the association between the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and the site of first metastasis in breast cancer patients. The results suggest that the presence of CTCs may indicate multiple-site or bone-only first distant disease, which can inform risk stratification and further treatment decisions.
Letter
Oncology
Anshul Vagrecha, Hiren B. Patel, Tania Mamdouhi, Suchitra Acharya, Abena Appiah-Kubi, Banu Aygun, Adrianna Vlachos, Lawrence C. Wolfe, Jeffrey M. Lipton, Randy Q. Cron, Carolyn Fein Levy
PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER
(2021)
Letter
Oncology
Tania Mamdouhi, Anshul Vagrecha, Alan A. Johnson, Carolyn Fein Levy, Mark Atlas, Julie I. Krystal
PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER
(2021)
Letter
Oncology
Tania Mamdouhi, Pooja Desai, Howard J. Goodman, John B. Amodio, Morris C. Edelman, Barrie S. Rich, Richard D. Glick, Jeffrey M. Lipton, Carolyn Fein Levy
PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Tania Mamdouhi, Prashin Unadkat, Morris C. Edelman, Alan A. Johnson, Carolyn Fein Levy, Mark A. Mittler
Summary: Osteochondroma is a relatively rare bone tumor that typically occurs in the appendicular skeleton, but there is limited research on its occurrence in the pediatric population. We present a case of a nine-year-old girl with a cervical osteochondroma, which was successfully treated with surgical excision to relieve neurological deficits. A literature review revealed 27 cases of pediatric osteochondromas with cord compression, suggesting that these lesions are more common in children than previously believed.
CUREUS JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
(2022)
