Science Letters

Current Status and Prospects of Circulating Tumor Cells in Gastric Cancer

Ranjit Kumar Yadav, Ge Hai Yan*

Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Pudong New District, No. 150, Jimo Road, Shanghai 200120, PR China

Abstract

Cancers are a big burden economically, both to families and health care agencies. With trends of increasing cancer incidence, that burden is expected to increase in the foreseeable future. Strides have been made in precision surgery and groundbreaking advances in cancer pharmacotherapy have made living longer with cancer a graspable reality. Thus, diagnosing cancers early with accuracy and lower costs are not just demanded patients' wellbeing, but imperative to reduce the pressure on health care funding. Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) are the dissemination of tumor cells through the blood which are originated from the primary tumor lesions. The involution of CTCs differs according to cancer types. The detection of CTCs in peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancers has been detected and it may serve as a blood-based marker for early diagnosis, tumor progression, metastasis as well as recurrence. Several techniques have been developed for the detection of these cells and studies have shown contrasting results using different techniques. This review focuses on the technical advances in different methods of enrichment and detection of CTCs with their clinical significance pertaining to gastric cancers.

Keywords Biomarkers, circulating tumor cells, gastric cancer, tumor prognosis.

Received September 11, 2016 Accepted November 19, 2016 Abstract Published December 09, 2016 Manuscript Published December 15, 2016

*Corresponding author Ge Hai Yan E-mail gesurgery@163.com Phone +862138804518