Search results for "circulating tumor cell"
showing 10 items of 26 documents
The Value of Liquid Biopsies for Guiding Therapy Decisions in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
2019
Targeted therapies have allowed for an individualized treatment approach in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The initial therapeutic decisions and success of targeted therapy depend on genetic identification of personal tumor profiles. Tissue biopsy is the gold standard for molecular analysis, but non-invasive or minimally invasive liquid biopsy methods are also now used in clinical practice, allowing for later monitoring and optimization of the cancer treatment. The inclusion of liquid biopsy in the management of NSCLC provides strong evidence on early treatment response, which becomes a basis for determining disease progression and the need for changes in treatment. Liquid biopsies can…
New insights in non-small-cell lung cancer: circulating tumor cells and cell-free DNA
2017
Lung cancer is the second most frequent tumor and the leading cause of death by cancer in both men and women. Increasing knowledge about the cancer genome and tumor environment has led to a new setting in which morphological and molecular characterization is needed to treat patients in the most personalized way in order to achieve better outcomes. Since tumor products can be detected in body fluids, the liquid biopsy, particularly, peripheral blood, has emerged as a new source for lung cancer biomarker's analysis. A variety of tumor components can be used for this purpose. Among them, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) should be especially considered. Different…
Opportunities and Challenges of Liquid Biopsy in Thyroid Cancer
2021
Thyroid cancer is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system, encompassing different entities with distinct histological features and clinical behavior. The diagnostic definition, therapeutic approach, and follow-up of thyroid cancers display some controversial aspects that represent unmet medical needs. Liquid biopsy is a non-invasive approach that detects and analyzes biological samples released from the tumor into the bloodstream. With the use of different technologies, tumor cells, free nucleic acids, and extracellular vesicles can be retrieved in the serum of cancer patients and valuable molecular information can be obtained. Recently, a growing body of evidence is accumulating…
Tumor Heterogeneity, Single-Cell Sequencing, and Drug Resistance
2016
Tumor heterogeneity has been compared with Darwinian evolution and survival of the fittest. The evolutionary ecosystem of tumors consisting of heterogeneous tumor cell populations represents a considerable challenge to tumor therapy, since all genetically and phenotypically different subpopulations have to be efficiently killed by therapy. Otherwise, even small surviving subpopulations may cause repopulation and refractory tumors. Single-cell sequencing allows for a better understanding of the genomic principles of tumor heterogeneity and represents the basis for more successful tumor treatments. The isolation and sequencing of single tumor cells still represents a considerable technical ch…
Actionable Molecular Targets in Cancer Liquid Biopsy
2017
The possibility to detect nucleic acid sequences in the bloodstream deriving from an underlying tumor process has disclosed a unique opportunity in medical oncology. Whether the nucleic acid material is leaked in the blood at any step of cancer development (circulating tumor DNA or ctDNA) or it is obtained from isolated circulating tumor cells (CTCs), the detection and analysis of the meaningful sequence defects harbored in instrumental molecular targets (which we call liquid biopsy) constitutes an invaluable tool toward leading the current oncology practice toward a less invasive and fully personalized diagnostic-therapeutic workflow. In spite of the current technical limitations that liqu…
Co-expression of CD133+/CD44+in human colon cancer and liver metastasis
2013
Although relatively good therapeutic results are achieved in non-advanced cancer, the prognosis of the advanced colon cancer still remains poor, dependent on local or distant recurrence of the disease. One of the factors responsible for recurrence is supposed to be cancer stem cells (CSCs) or tumor-initiating cells, which are a population of cancer cells with ability to perpetuate themselves through self-renewal and to generate differentiated cells, thought to be responsible for tumor recurrence. This study globally approach the possible role of tissue-derived stem cells in the initiation of colon cancer and its metastatic process in the liver. Fresh surgical specimens from colon cancer, no…
Liquid biopsies in lung cancer: The new ambrosia of researchers
2014
Abstract: In the last decades the approach to cancer patient management has been deeply revolutionized. We are moving from a "one-fits-all" strategy to the "personalized medicine" based on the molecular characterization of the tumor. In this new era it is becoming more and more clear that the monitoring of the disease is fundamental for the success of the treatment, thus there is the need of new biomarker discovery. More precisely in the last years the scientific community has started to use the term "liquid biopsy". A liquid biopsy is a liquid biomarker that can be easily isolated from many body fluids (blood, saliva, urine, ascites, pleural effusion, etc.) and, as well as a tissue biopsy,…
Technical Aspects for the Evaluation of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs)
2017
Liquid biopsy is considered a valid strategy to improve patients’ selection and treatment monitoring in clinical practice. Indeed Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) represent an important component of liquid biopsy and their clinical evaluation is becoming fundamental for a better patients’ stratification. Several techniques have been developed for CTCs isolation and enrichment and in this chapter we provide an updated overview of the main strategies that can be used.
Epulis-Like Presentation of Gingival Renal Cancer Metastasis
2017
Mouth metastatic cancers are very rare and they usually represent the evidence of a widespread disease. Common primary tumors are lung carcinoma in men and breast carcinoma in women, followed by kidney cancer. In the oral soft tissues, the gingiva is the most common site, suggesting a possible role of inflammation in the attraction of circulating tumor cells. Oral metastasis has a serious prognosis. In this work, we describe the case of a 58-year-old man affected by renal cancer, who was brought to our attention for the appearance of a gingival swelling. Initially, the lesion was excised through a provisional clinical diagnosis of epulis. Subsequently, anatomopathological analysis showed a …
Prognostic value of CTCs in advanced NSCLC patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy
2019
Abstract Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. At diagnosis, 70% of patients present advanced disease being chemotherapy the standard of care. Although, specific tumour biomarkers that allow a better treatment selection and monitoring is absent at the moment. Enumeration and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have the potential to perform as a prognostic biomarker for a precision medicine approach to lung cancer care. The present study was conducted to validate the characterization CTCs from patients with advanced Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as a valuable tool for anticipating the disease evolution and the therapy response.…