title: Single-cell analysis of CTCs with diagnostic precision: opportunities and challenges for personalized medicine.
abstract: The generation of variant cancer cells is the major cause of acquired resistance against systemic therapies and consequently, of our inability to cure advanced cancer patients. Circulating tumor cells are gaining increasing clinical attention because they may enable the monitoring cancer progression and adjustment of treatment. In recent years multiple technologies for enrichment, isolation as well as molecular and functional analysis of circulating tumor cells have been developed. Implementation of these technologies in standardized and automated workflows in clinical diagnostics could provide valuable information for real-time monitoring of cancer and eventually new therapeutic strategies for the benefit of patients.
authors.affiliation: a Project Group "Personalized Tumor Therapy" , Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine , Regensburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alberter
authors.affiliation: a Project Group "Personalized Tumor Therapy" , Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine , Regensburg , Germany.|b Experimental Medicine and Therapy Research , University of Regensburg , Regensburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: a Project Group "Personalized Tumor Therapy" , Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine , Regensburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Polzer
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: CTC cultivation; circulating tumor cells; liquid biopsy; molecular single-cell analysis; whole genome amplification