ReviewMolecular oncology2017
Circulating and disseminated tumor cells: harbingers or initiators of metastasis?
Review in Molecular oncology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 133 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
133 citing papers in PubMed.
- Circulating tumour cells at baseline and late phase of treatment provide prognostic value in breast cancer.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Understanding and targeting the tumour matrisome.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Tumor-intrinsic IFNγ signaling and niche adaptation drive early colonization in ovarian cancer metastasis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- GATE Monte Carlo evaluation of cellular dosimetry forEJNMMI physics · 2026Article
- Disseminated Tumor Cells (DTCs) in Patients with Cervical Cancer Reveal Mesenchymal Properties and Potential Therapeutic Targets-A New Perspective?International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Microenvironment plays a critical role in modulating tumor cell dormancy: Current perspectives and potential treatment options.World journal of clinical oncology · 2026Review
- Detection of circulating tumor cells and microemboli in the blood of lung adenocarcinoma in situ patients case reports.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Recent advances in the design and development of small-molecule MMP-2 inhibitors.Future medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Circulating tumor cells as predictive biomarkers in the risk stratification of DCIS: Evidence of early dissemination.Science advances · 2025Article
- Unveiling the "Dark Matter" of platelet involvement in tumor microenvironment.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2025Review
- Liquid biopsy in breast cancer: Redefining precision medicine.The journal of liquid biopsy · 2025Review
- Recent advances in liquid biopsy for precision oncology: emerging biomarkers and clinical applications in lung cancer.Future oncology (London, England) · 2025Review
- Article
- Liquid biopsies for early detection and monitoring of cancer: advances, challenges, and future directions.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Review
- The development and applications of circulating tumour cells, circulating tumour DNA and other emerging biomarkers for early cancer detection.Exploration of targeted anti-tumor therapy · 2025Review
- Could circulating tumor cells explain why breast conservation improves survival despite higher locoregional recurrence?Translational breast cancer research : a journal focusing on translational research in breast cancer · 2025Article
- Unraveling the Mystery of Breast Cancer Dormancy: Insights into Genetic, Receptor, and Cellular Interactions Driving Late Recurrence.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Article
- Ezrin Polarization as a Diagnostic Marker for Circulating Tumor Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Cells · 2024Article
- Design of buffer property for the new enrichment method of circulating tumor cell based on immunomagnetic-negative separation.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2024Article
73 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
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Tumor cells leave the primary tumor and enter the circulation. Once there, they are called circulating tumor cells (CTCs). A fraction of CTCs are capable of entering distant sites and persisting as disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). An even smaller fraction of DTCs are capable of progressing toward metastases. It is known that the DTC microenvironment plays an important role in sustaining their survival, regulating their growth, and conferring resistance to therapy. But we still have much to learn about the nature of these rare cell populations to predict which will progress and what exactly should cause concern for future relapse. Although recent technological advances in our ability to detect and molecularly and functionally characterize CTCs and DTCs promise to unravel this ambiguity, the timing of dissemination and the precise source of CTCs and DTCs profiled will impact the conclusions that can be made from these endeavors. In this review, we discuss the biology of CTCs and DTCs; the technologies to detect, isolate, and profile these cells; and the exceptions we must apply to our understanding of what role these cells play in the metastatic process. We conclude that a greater effort to understand the unique biology of these cells in context will positively impact our ability to use these cells to predict outcome, monitor treatment efficacy, and reveal therapeutically relevant targets to deplete these populations and ultimately prevent 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.