title: Pitfalls in the detection of disseminated non-hematological tumor cells.
abstract: There is not yet a consensus on the reliability of the methods that should be used for the detection of rare disseminated tumor cells from non-hematological malignancies. In this review, we will discuss the advantage and drawbacks of the classical approach of immunocytochemistry and the molecular detection by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The interpretation of the biological significance of circulating tumor cells and the pitfalls of the detection techniques are the main causes of discrepancy between the conclusions of different tumor-cell detection (TCD) studies.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Oncology and Hematology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. goeminne@onco.ucl.ac.be
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Goeminne
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guillaume
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Symann
mesh_terms: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000737:chemistry*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm