TY - JOUR
T1 - Circulating tumor cells as a diagnostic test for malignant pleural mesothelioma
AU - Pinton, Giulia
AU - Manente, Arcangela Gabriella
AU - Moro, Laura
AU - Mutti, Luciano
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are supported by Fondazione Buzzi Unicem and Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
PY - 2012/5
Y1 - 2012/5
N2 - The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may have important prognostic and therapeutic implications; therefore, we expect a broader range of tumor types in which CTC detection and count will routinely be conducted in the coming years. This article evaluates the application of CTC as a potentially useful diagnostic and prognostic test in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MMe). MMe is a rare but increasingly prevalent, highly aggressive asbestos exposure-related tumor. MMe develops after long time latency, is rarely diagnosed at early stages, is poorly sensitive to conventional treatments and presents a very short survival upon diagnosis. Pursuing research of CTC in MMe can represent a very important task for all the clinical and preclinical scientists working on blood biomarkers of this tumor. Possibly in combination with other diagnostic tools, such as a thoracoscopy and advanced imaging, CTC can represent a promising tool for MMe prognosis and follow-up. Further studies to confirm value of CTC test in MMe are warranted.
AB - The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may have important prognostic and therapeutic implications; therefore, we expect a broader range of tumor types in which CTC detection and count will routinely be conducted in the coming years. This article evaluates the application of CTC as a potentially useful diagnostic and prognostic test in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MMe). MMe is a rare but increasingly prevalent, highly aggressive asbestos exposure-related tumor. MMe develops after long time latency, is rarely diagnosed at early stages, is poorly sensitive to conventional treatments and presents a very short survival upon diagnosis. Pursuing research of CTC in MMe can represent a very important task for all the clinical and preclinical scientists working on blood biomarkers of this tumor. Possibly in combination with other diagnostic tools, such as a thoracoscopy and advanced imaging, CTC can represent a promising tool for MMe prognosis and follow-up. Further studies to confirm value of CTC test in MMe are warranted.
KW - Circulating tumor cells
KW - Diagnostic test
KW - Human malignant pleural mesothelioma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84860233149&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1517/17530059.2012.676042
DO - 10.1517/17530059.2012.676042
M3 - Review article
SN - 1753-0059
VL - 6
SP - 171
EP - 173
JO - Expert Opinion on Medical Diagnostics
JF - Expert Opinion on Medical Diagnostics
IS - 3
ER -