The Biology and Clinical Implementation of Circulating Tumor Cells in Cancer Metastasis
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 328
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Pathology, The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87120, USA
3. Full Member, UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Interests: the biology and therapeutic utility of circulating tumor cells (CTCs); liquid biopsies; mechanisms of brain metastasis and dormancy in breast and melanoma cancers; molecular crosstalks between dormant bone-marrow (BM) cells and CTCs; roles of BM and BM cellular heterogeneity interplaying with metastasis and dormancy
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cancer metastasis represents the culmination of tumor progression, and is the main cause of death among cancer patients. Notably, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) comprise a rare and heterogeneous cell population that sheds from tumors and traverses the peripheral blood stream throughout the carcinogenic process, from early premalignant lesions to fatal metastatic disease. Consequently, the concept of “Liquid Biopsy”, with which to interrogate CTCs and other blood analytes (ctDNA, exosomes, microRNAs, etc.) for their clinical applications as precision medicine tools, has significantly expanded in the last two decades, following the first instance of liquid biopsy proving the clinical utility of CTCs as independent prognostic indicators of progression-free and overall survival of metastatic cancer patients. Since then, the field of “Liquid Biopsy” has witnessed not only the development as well as commercialization of multiple platforms, technologies, and tests, but also augmented knowledge characterizing CTC biology and CTC biomarkers. These advances have resulted in novel analyses that employ enrichment platforms that either capture CTCs through multiple parameters, profile CTCs at the single-cell level, or identify specific CTC biomarkers’ expressions and/or gene transcripts. Collectively, CTC/liquid biopsy studies have opened new investigational avenues towards the detection and prognostication of cancer progression and responses to therapy.
The objective of this Special Issue is to publish the latest advances in combating cancer metastasis and elucidating the biology as well as clinical implementation of CTCs/liquid biopsy analytes. Contributions from diverse fields of expertise outlining the latest discoveries in their basic/translational/clinical research, e.g., biological, genetic, biophysical, mathematical, and overall preclinical and clinical progress, are welcome.
You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Cancers.
Prof. Dr. Dario Marchetti
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- circulating tumor cells
- liquid biopsy
- cancer metastasis
- CTC biomarker discovery and implementation
- the biology and characterization of CTCs
