Exploring Circulating Tumor Cells: Detection Methods and Biomarkers for Clinical Evaluation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Abstract

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), originating from primary neoplastic tissues, infiltrate blood vessels, migrate through the bloodstream, and establish secondary tumor foci. The detection of CTCs holds significant promise for early-stage identification, diagnostic precision, therapeutic monitoring, and prognostic evaluation. It offers a non-invasive approach and has broad clinical relevance in cancer management. This comprehensive review primarily focused on CTCs as biomarkers in the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma, compared their correlation with key clinical parameters and the identification of gene characteristics. It also highlighted current methodologies in CTC detection. Despite approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for select malignancies, the comprehensive integration of CTCs into routine clinical practice requires procedural standardization and a deeper understanding of the underlying molecular intricacies. The challenges in CTC detection, including limited quantity, technical impediments, and cellular heterogeneity, call for concerted and further investigational efforts to advance precision in cancer diagnostics and prognostication, thus realizing the objectives of precise and personalized medicine.