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Circulating Tumor Cells

Meaning

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that have detached from a primary tumor site or metastatic lesion and entered the bloodstream. These rare cells are key mediators in the metastatic cascade, traveling through the circulatory system to potentially seed new tumors in distant organs. The presence and number of CTCs in a patient’s peripheral blood can serve as a valuable prognostic biomarker, offering insight into the aggressiveness of the disease. Clinically, analyzing CTCs allows for a non-invasive “liquid biopsy” to monitor disease progression and assess therapeutic effectiveness in real-time.