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Circulating tumor cells in the management of metastatic breast cancer patients
Fairfax Northern Virginia Hematology/Oncology, Fairfax, VA
Although there have been many treatment advances in metastatic breast cancer over the past 10 years, the diagnostic tools for selecting the appropriate pharmacologic agent have not kept pace with them. Recent studies have identified both the prognostic and predictive utility of determining the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with metastatic breast cancer. In this article, the author shares his positive experience with CTCs in predicting therapeutic success or failure in this patient population and offers a treatment algorithm to guide the use and interpretation of CTC levels over the course of treatment.
| Commun Oncol 2007;4:79–82 | full text |  138 kb |