AUTHOR=Kapeleris Joanna , Kulasinghe Arutha , Warkiani Majid E. , Vela Ian , Kenny Liz , O'Byrne Kenneth , Punyadeera Chamindie 

TITLE=The Prognostic Role of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) in Lung Cancer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2018.00311

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2018.00311

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>Lung cancer affects over 1. 8 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer related mortality globally. Currently, diagnosis of lung cancer involves a combination of imaging and invasive biopsies to confirm histopathology. Non-invasive diagnostic techniques under investigation include “liquid biopsies” through a simple blood draw to develop predictive and prognostic biomarkers. A better understanding of circulating tumor cell (CTC) dissemination mechanisms offers promising potential for the development of techniques to assist in the diagnosis of lung cancer. Enumeration and characterization of CTCs has the potential to act as a prognostic biomarker and to identify novel drug targets for a precision medicine approach to lung cancer care. This review will focus on the current status of CTCs and their potential diagnostic and prognostic utility in this setting.</p>