Research progress of gastric cancer circulating tumor cells

The incidence of gastric cancer ranks the fourth in all kinds of cancers in the world, ranking the second among patients with cancer-related deaths. The 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients is less than 30%. About 50% of gastric cancer patients have recurred or metastasized after curative resection. Metastasis and recurrence are the major causes of death in cancer patients. CTCs play an important role in tumor metastasis. At present, there are more than 10 kinds of detection methods for CTCs in gastric cancer. The most widely used methods are RT-PCR, FCM, Celltracks® AutoPrep® system and ISET. Recent studies have shown that CTCs in peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer can be used to determine the clinical stage of patients, assess the prognosis and guide the individualized treatment of cancer. Key words: Stomach neoplasms; Neoplastic cells, circulating; Neoplasm metasis; Detection method