Circulating tumor cells isolation:the "post-EpCAM era"

作     者：Cristina Raimondi Chiara Nicolazzo Angela Gradilone 

作者机构：Dipartimento Medicina MolecolareSapienza Universita di RomaRoma Italy 

出 版 物：《Chinese Journal of Cancer Research》 (中国癌症研究（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2015年第27卷第5期

页      面：461-470页

核心收录：

学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 100214[医学-肿瘤学] 10[医学] 

主　　题：Epithelial cell adhesion molecule(EpCAM) circulating tumor cells(CTCs) epithelial-mesenchymal transition EpICD 

摘      要：Circulating tumor cells （CTCs） represent a submicroscopic fraction detached from a primary tumor and in transit to a secondary site. The prognostic significance of CTCs in metastatic cancer patients was demonstrated for the first time more than ten years ago. To date, it seems clear enough that CTCs are highly heterogeneous and dynamically change their shape. Thus, the inadequacy of epithelial cell adhesion molecule （EpCAM） as universal marker for CTCs detection seems unquestionable and alternative methods able to recognize a broader spectrum of phenotypes are definitely needed. In this review the pleiotropic functions of EpCAM are discussed in detail and the role of the molecule in the biology of CTCs is critically dissected.