title: Circulating tumor cell enumeration by the CellSearch system: the clinician's guide to breast cancer treatment?
abstract: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that are present in the blood of patients with solid cancers and are shed from existing tumor lesions into the blood stream. The enumeration of CTCs has long been considered to hold great promise in guiding treatment decision-making in breast cancer patients. However, guidelines on how to use CTC enumeration in clinical decision-making in primary breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer are lacking. Here, we set out to review the most relevant literature to date, to ultimately come to general recommendations regarding the use of CTC enumeration in primary breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology and Cancer Genomics Netherlands, Erasmus Medical Center Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: n.beije@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beije
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology and Cancer Genomics Netherlands, Erasmus Medical Center Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: a.jager@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jager
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology and Cancer Genomics Netherlands, Erasmus Medical Center Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: s.sleijfer@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sleijfer
mesh_terms: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000097:blood; D002452:Cell Count; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule
keywords: Breast cancer; CTC; Circulating tumor cells; Clinical decision-making; Recommendations