Stem-like plasticity and heterogeneity of circulating tumor cells: current status and prospect challenges in liver cancer

Poor prognosis and high recurrence remain leading causes of primary liver cancer-associated mortality. The spread of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood plays a major role in the initiation of metastasis and tumor recurrence after surgery. Nevertheless, only a subset of CTCs can survive, mig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oncotarget 2017-01, Vol.8 (4), p.7094-7115
Main Authors: Correnti, Margherita, Raggi, Chiara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell Plasticity
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Humans
Liver Neoplasms - pathology
Neoplasm Metastasis
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
Neoplastic Cells, Circulating - pathology
Prognosis
Review
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Summary:Poor prognosis and high recurrence remain leading causes of primary liver cancer-associated mortality. The spread of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood plays a major role in the initiation of metastasis and tumor recurrence after surgery. Nevertheless, only a subset of CTCs can survive, migrate to distant sites and establish secondary tumors. Consistent with cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, stem-like CTCs might represent a potential source for cancer relapse and distant metastasis. Thus, identification of stem-like metastasis-initiating CTC-subset may provide useful clinically prognostic information. This review will emphasize the most relevant findings of CTCs in the context of stem-like biology associated to liver carcinogenesis. In this view, the emerging field of stem-like CTCs may deliver substantial contribution in liver cancer field in order to move to personalized approaches for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.
ISSN:1949-2553
1949-2553
DOI:10.18632/oncotarget.12569