循环肿瘤细胞(circulating tumor cells,CTCs)是指自发或因诊疗操作由实体瘤或转移灶释放进入外周血循环的肿瘤细胞,是恶性肿瘤患者出现术后复发和远处转移的重要原因.近年来,随着检测技术的不断改进,CTCs检测作为一种新型的非侵入性诊断工具,在早期发现患者术后复发与远处转移、评估疗效与预后等方面的应用价值已成为临床研究的热点.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cells that have detached from a primary tumor and circulate in the bloodstream. CTCs may constitute seeds for subsequent growth of additional tumors (metastasis) in different tissues.