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Circulating Tumour Cells

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Pancreatic Cancer

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Abstract

Analysis of cellular and molecular components of tumour origin detectable in the bloodstream, so-called liquid biopsies, is demonstrating potential to support management of cancer patients. Development of sensitive technologies enables detection, isolation, and downstream analysis of both circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) from the blood of patients with various malignancies, in a minimally invasive way, allowing temporal and spatial monitoring of the clinical course of the disease. This is particularly significant in cancers such as pancreas cancer, a particularly aggressive disease with limited treatment options and poor outcomes, where serial biopsy is challenging. CTC enumeration; genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analysis; as well as in-depth sequencing of ctDNA may define a comprehensive molecular and genetic landscape of pancreatic cancer and provide a set of novel biomarkers for screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and response assessment. A number of pilot studies have been conducted to assess the role of liquid biopsies in the setting of pancreatic cancer. Although results so far seem promising, more extensive studies are required to establish the clinical utility of CTCs and ctDNA in developing a personalized approach for the management of this malignancy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology Group, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, Manchester, UK

    Konstantinos L. Georgiadis, Kathryn Simpson, Mahmood Ayub, Ged Brady & Caroline Dive

  2. Systems Oncology Group, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, Manchester, UK

    Konstantinos L. Georgiadis & Claus Jorgensen

  3. Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Juan Valle

Authors
  1. Konstantinos L. Georgiadis
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  2. Kathryn Simpson
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  3. Mahmood Ayub
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  4. Ged Brady
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  5. Juan Valle
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  6. Claus Jorgensen
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  7. Caroline Dive
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Konstantinos L. Georgiadis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. DMCCMC, University of Liverpool DMCCMC, Liverpool, United Kingdom

    John P. Neoptolemos

  2. Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Raul Urrutia

  3. Dept. Gastrointestinal Medical Onco, Duke University Medical Center Dept. Gastrointestinal Medical Onco, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    James Abbruzzese

  4. Heidelberg, Germany

    Markus W. Büchler

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Georgiadis, K.L. et al. (2017). Circulating Tumour Cells. In: Neoptolemos, J., Urrutia, R., Abbruzzese, J., Büchler, M. (eds) Pancreatic Cancer. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6631-8_62-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6631-8_62-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6631-8

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