Single-cell Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells Identifies Cumulative Expression Patterns of EMT-related Genes in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

摘要

BACKGROUNDProstate tumors shed circulating tumor cells (CTCs) into the blood stream. Increased evidence shows that CTCs are often present in metastatic prostate cancer and can be alternative sources for disease profiling and prognostication. Here we postulate that CTCs expressing genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are strong predictors of metastatic prostate cancer.