Circulating Tumor Cells as Cancer Diagnostic Biomarkers

Dear Colleagues,

The major cause of cancer mortality is metastasis; however, the mechanisms of clinical metastasis remain poorly understood. Because tumor cell dissemination mostly occurs through the blood, deciphering biomarkers, properties and characteristics of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are of fundamental relevance to develop and implement novel drug therapies in oncology. CTCs can act as “liquid biopsy” to diagnose and monitor cancer in patients in “real time”. They represent clinically useful tools to better reflect cancer progression, nascent metastatic disease, and therapy efficacy in the patient.

There are multiple challenges connected with CTC research and CTC clinical implementation. CTCs are rare, fragile, and heterogeneous, latter either inherited from respective primary/metastatic tumors or as a result of CTC properties interconversion by genetic/epigenetic progression that may or may not lead to a fully metastatic-competent CTC.  Significant technical challenges in the field also persist to identify and interrogate CTC heterogeneity, discover CTC biomarkers of clinical utility, and comprehensively capture and interrogate CTCs. Many studies have reported the clinical impact of CTCs since CTC testing has being applied in over 300 clinical trials worldwide. However, much of the CTC biology needs to be discovered and many scientific/technical challenges must be overcome before their clinical promise as biomarkers and targets for improved therapies can be fulfilled.

The objective of this Special Issue is to publish latest findings of CTC research. Contributions outlining CTC discoveries in biological and clinical settings, CTC theoretical and pre-clinical models, CTC technologies and methods for their detection, and clinical findings applying CTC concepts, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Dario Marchetti
Guest Editor

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