Molecular characterization of breast cancer circulating tumor cells (CTCs) associated with brain metastasis

The enumeration of EpCAM-positive circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has allowed clinicians to estimate the overall metastatic burden in breast cancer patients. However, a thorough understanding of CTCs associated with breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) is necessary for early identification and evaluation of treatment response to BCBM. In this study, we report that BCBM CTCs are enriched in a distinct sub-population of cells identifiable by their biomarker expression and mutational content.

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Boral D, Vishnoi M, Liu HN, Yin W, Sprouse ML, Scamardo A, Hong DS, Tan TZ, Thiery JP, Chang JC, Marchetti D