Circulating tumour cells in gastrointestinal cancers: food for thought?
Simran AsawaManuel NüeschAna GvozdenovicNicola AcetoPublished in: British journal of cancer (2023)
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers account for 35% of cancer-related deaths, predominantly due to their ability to spread and generate drug-tolerant metastases. Arising from different locations in the GI system, the majority of metastatic GI malignancies colonise the liver and the lungs. In this context, circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are playing a critical role in the formation of new metastases, and their presence in the blood of patients has been correlated with a poor outcome. In addition to their prognostic utility, prospective targeting of CTCs may represent a novel, yet ambitious strategy in the fight against metastasis. A better understanding of CTC biology, mechanistic underpinnings and weaknesses may facilitate the development of previously underappreciated anti-metastasis approaches. Here, along with related clinical studies, we outline a selection of the literature describing biological features of CTCs with an impact on their metastasis forming ability in different GI cancers.
Keyphrases
- circulating tumor cells
- induced apoptosis
- cell cycle arrest
- end stage renal disease
- systematic review
- small cell lung cancer
- squamous cell carcinoma
- ejection fraction
- newly diagnosed
- cell death
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- signaling pathway
- peritoneal dialysis
- young adults
- climate change
- patient reported outcomes
- childhood cancer
- cell free