ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2016
Clusters of circulating tumor cells traverse capillary-sized vessels.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 262 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
262 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 491 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors affecting survival in patients with colorectal cancer: an umbrella review.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- [Parecoxib sodium down-regulates CXCL8-CXCR1/2 to improve inflammatory microenvironment and promote patient recovery following laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2024Trial
- Cancer metastasis: biological mechanisms, therapeutic bottlenecks, and emerging interventions.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- APOC1⁺IFI30⁺ TAMs orchestrate colorectal cancer liver metastasis by coupling cholesterol biosynthesis with secretion of immunosuppressive factors.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Article
- Review
- Reprogramming Antitumor Immunity: NK Cell Strategies to Navigate the Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Article
- CTC cluster in breast cancer: synergetic metastasis promotion mechanism and transformation path from platelet cloaking to leukocyte escort.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
- A Novel Zebrafish Liver-Specific Metastasis Model Reveals c-Met as a Driver of Liver Tropism.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026Article
- Extracellular matrix mediates circulating tumor cell clustering in triple-negative breast cancer metastasis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Fast label-free live imaging with FlowVision reveals key principles of cancer cell arrest on endothelial monolayers.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- A Mechanophenotyping chip for high-throughput detection of metastatic bacteria-infected circulating tumor cells.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Cancer cells metastasize in several types of cancer via two distinct routes, probably based on mechanical signals.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Brillouin Microscopy of Breast tumor Spheroids On-a-Chip: Mechanical and Transcriptional Responses to Microfluidic-Induced Rapid Deformations.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Biophysical adaptations of circulating tumor cells undergoing metastasis.Biophysics reports · 2025Article
- Microphysiological systems for metastasis research: a stepwise approach.Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- Hirudin suppresses hematogenous metastasis by targeting desmosome junction transition in circulating tumor cell clusters via HIF-1α-DSG2 signaling.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2025Article
- Circulating Molecular Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of NSCLC-A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Endothelial activation during the diapedesis of cancer cells: between the kiss of death and therapeutic breakthrough.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2025Review
202 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Multicellular aggregates of circulating tumor cells (CTC clusters) are potent initiators of distant organ metastasis. However, it is currently assumed that CTC clusters are too large to pass through narrow vessels to reach these organs. Here, we present evidence that challenges this assumption through the use of microfluidic devices designed to mimic human capillary constrictions and CTC clusters obtained from patient and cancer cell origins. Over 90% of clusters containing up to 20 cells successfully traversed 5- to 10-μm constrictions even in whole blood. Clusters rapidly and reversibly reorganized into single-file chain-like geometries that substantially reduced their hydrodynamic resistances. Xenotransplantation of human CTC clusters into zebrafish showed similar reorganization and transit through capillary-sized vessels in vivo. Preliminary experiments demonstrated that clusters could be disrupted during transit using drugs that affected cellular interaction energies. These findings suggest that CTC clusters may contribute a greater role to tumor dissemination than previously believed and may point to strategies for combating CTC cluster-initiated metastasis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.