In Vitro Culture and Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells from Patients with Urothelial Carcinoma

摘要

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which have shed from primary tumor, circulate in the bloodstream and contribute to metastasis. CTCs maintain the molecular characteristics of the primary tumor, thus liquid biopsy using CTCs can be a substitute for tumor tissue biopsy. Recently, many studies about CTC isolation and characterization in different cancer types have been reported. However, the characterization of CTCs from bladder cancer patients is very rare. Here, we suggest isolation and culturing of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as an alternative to tumor tissue biopsy in 5 patients with urothelial carcinoma.