Usefulness of monitoring circulating tumor cells as a therapeutic biomarker in melanoma with BRAF mutation.
Yukiko KiniwaKenta NakamuraAsuka MikoshibaAtsuko AshidaYasuyuki AkiyamaAtsushi MorimotoRyuhei OkuyamaPublished in: BMC cancer (2021)
CTCs are present even in the early stage of melanoma, and the number of CTCs seems to reflect patients' responses to BRAF/MEK inhibitor treatment. Furthermore, genetic heterogeneity of BRAF may contribute to resistance to BRAF/MEK inhibitors. Our findings demonstrate the usefulness of CTC analysis for monitoring responses to targeted therapies in melanoma patients, and for understanding the mechanism of drug resistance.
Keyphrases
- circulating tumor cells
- end stage renal disease
- early stage
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- ejection fraction
- prognostic factors
- peritoneal dialysis
- metastatic colorectal cancer
- squamous cell carcinoma
- gene expression
- cell proliferation
- pi k akt
- lymph node
- rectal cancer
- combination therapy
- basal cell carcinoma