The Clinical Utility of Circulationg Tumor Cells: Analysis of These Cells May Have the Potential to Assist with Screening and Diagnosing Cancer

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) do hold the potential to significantly assist with clinical decision making. However, for CTC analysis to achieve clinical uptake, there need to be standardized platforms and protocols for isolating and analyzing CTCs as well as more focused and relevant prognostic information, which will require several additional controlled clinical trials to determine the true benefit of CTC isolation and analysis. Such studies-several of which are currently underway, with many more planned in the near future-will likely yield actionable information so that clinicians can utilize CTC analysis as an additional piece of information with which to guide treatment determinations and help predict outcomes.