Lung cancer is the malignant disease with the highest rate in terms of incidence and mortality in China. Early diagnosis and timely monitoring tumor recurrence and metastasis are extremely important for improving 5-year survival rate of lung cancer patients. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), as a "liquid biopsy specimens" for the primary tumor, provide the possibility to perform real-time, non-invasive histological identification for lung cancer patients. The detection of CTCs contributes to early diagnosis, surveillance of tumor recurrence and metastasis, and prediction of therapeutic efficacy and prognosis. Furthermore, CTCs-dependent detection emerges as a new approach for molecularly pathologic examination, study of molecular mechanisms involved in drug resistance, and resolution for tumor heterogeneity. This study reviewed the recent progress of CTCs in lung cancer research field.
肺癌是我国发病率及死亡率最高的恶性肿瘤，其早期诊断和监测复发与转移，对提高肺癌5年生存率尤为重要。循环肿瘤细胞（circulating tumor cells, CTCs）作为一种代表原发肿瘤的“液态活检标本”，有助于实时、无创性地进行组织学鉴定。CTCs检测有助于肺癌早期诊断、监测肿瘤复发与转移、判定疗效和预后，而且可能成为检测临床分子、分析耐药分子机制及解决肿瘤异质性的一种手段。本文就近年来CTCs在肺癌领域的研究进展进行综述。