Detection of circulating tumor cells and the importance of their measurement in urological cancers

• Main Authors: Michio Naoe, Mika Ohta, Yuki Hasebe, Yuki Matsui, Tsutomu Unoki, Hideaki Shimoyama, Takehiko Nakasato, Yoshio Ogawa, Mana Tsukada, Masataka Sunagawa, Hikaru Ishii, Masayuki Ishige, Hironori Osawa, Masaharu Matuzaki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2018-01-01
• Series: Urological Science
• Subjects: Circulating tumor cells; liquid biopsy; urological cancer
• Online Access: http://www.e-urol-sci.com/article.asp?issn=1879-5226;year=2018;volume=29;issue=4;spage=176;epage=179;aulast=Naoe

In recent years, various new drugs such as molecularly targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors have been developed. Liquid biopsy is becoming increasingly important as a guide for selecting these new drugs and determining their efficacy. In urological cancers, given the lack of serum markers for kidney cancer or urothelial cancers, the development of liquid biopsy is strongly desired. Liquid biopsy is less invasive than conventional tissue biopsy, enabling frequent biopsies, and is therefore considered effective for monitoring of the treatment course. Liquid biopsy is largely divided into three types: circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell-free DNA, and exosomes, each of which has its own set of advantages and disadvantages with regard to the identification method and utility. In the present article, we focus on CTCs and discuss issues in their identification method as well as recent findings.