Direct Comparison of Metastasis-Related miRNAs Expression Levels in Circulating Tumor Cells, Corresponding Plasma, and Primary Tumors of Breast Cancer Patients

摘要

BACKGROUND: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are important in liquid biopsies in which peripheral blood is used to characterize the evolution of solid tumors. We evaluated the expression levels of miR-21, miR-146a, miR-200c, and miR-210 in CTCs of breast cancer patients with verified metastasis and compared their expression levels in corresponding plasma and primary tumors.