Molecular Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells in Colorectal Cancer Patients: From Laboratory Investigation to Clinical Implication

The first recorded evidence of the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the peripheral blood of cancer patients was documented in 1869. In the past few decades, experiments have shown that cancer-related alterations can be detected at the DNA and RNA levels. Both DNA and mRNA molecular markers can be used for the detection of CTCs in patients with various malignancies. Currently, modern molecular biological and cell sorting techniques make their detection and characterization more practicable. These recent advances in our understanding should lead to the development of new molecular markers for predicting micrometastasis, as well as the identification of new targets for anti-metastatic therapies. This article reviews recent advances in molecular and clinical aspects of CTCs, especially by DNA and mRNA markers, for an early detection of colorectal cancer and other conditions.