The significance of circulating tumor cells in prostate cancer patients ... - Nature.com
Medical Biophysics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada Correspondence: Dr T Sexton, London Regional Cancer Program, London Health Sciences Centre, 790 Commissioners Road East, London, N6A 4L6... Enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) using the regulatory-approved CellSearch System (CSS) is prognostic in metastatic prostate cancer. Patients will then be recommended for either surveillance, potentially curative radiation therapy (RT) or palliative hormonal therapy. Although these parameters provide a measure of disease aggressiveness, neither they nor available imaging technologies can determine the precise location of recurrent PCa, thereby presenting a unique problem. If recurrent disease is localized to the prostate bed, RT could be curative. However, if the disease has become systemic, local radiation will be insufficient and systemic therapy may be necessary. Therefore, novel biomarkers that could discriminate patients with local recurrence versus those with systemic disease would be of clinical benefit. The presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the bloodstream of PCa patients has been correlated with metastatic disease. Source: www.nature.com
