Detection and clinical significance of circulating tumor cells in gastric cancer

Abstract

The death of patients with gastric cancer is mainly due to its recurrence and metastasis, and circulating tumor cell (CTC) is the necessary condition of metastasis. As liquid biopsy, CTC detection has its certain clinical significance. The detection is required after enrichment because circulating tumor cells are rare. Many enrichment methods have been developed: methods based on physical characteristics of TCT, like density, size and dielectric properties and so on; immunogenicity, like Cell Search System; and microfluidic chip technology. The immunofluorescence is commonly used to identify CTC in gastric cancer and the isolated CTC can also be used for the following analysis on the level of nucleic acid, protein and gene regulation. Detection of CTC in gastric cancer is helpful to judge the prognosis, assess staging, monitor the curative effect and guide the development of drug. There are many challenges for clinical transformation of CTC: the lower enrichment efficiency, the less specific surface markers, the uncertain diagnostic efficiency and so on, but it also has the good research prospect because it is non-invasive, repeatable and can real-time monitor the condition and guide the clinical treatment compared with pathological biopsy. In this paper, the detection and identification methods, and clinical value of CTC in gastric cancer patients are reviewed.