The epigenetic landscape of circulating tumour cells
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Cancer
Volume
1875
Issue
2
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences / Centre for Precision Health
RAS ID
32733
Funders
Rutherford discovery fellowship (Royal Society of New Zealand) Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), New Zealand
Abstract
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. Cancer metastasis is the main reason for the high mortality in patients, contributing to 90% of cancer-related deaths. Biomarkers for early detection and therapeutic monitoring are essential to improve cancer outcomes. Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) arise from solid tumours and are capable of metastatic dissemination via the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Thus, CTCs can potentially be developed as a minimally invasive biomarker for early detection and therapeutic monitoring. Despite its clinical potential, research on CTCs remains limited, and this is likely due to their low numbers, short half-life, and the lack of robust methods for their isolation. There is also a need for molecular characterisation of CTCs to identify tumour-specific features, such as epigenetic signatures of metastasis. This review provides an overview of the epigenetic landscape of CTCs. We discuss the role of epigenetic modifications in CTC dissemination,metastatic tumour formation and progression and highlight its clinical implications
DOI
10.1016/j.bbcan.2021.188514
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Comments
Vasantharajan, S. S., Eccles, M. R., Rodger, E. J., Pattison, S., McCall, J. L., Gray, E. S., … Chatterjee, A. (2021). The epigenetic landscape of circulating tumour cells. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Cancer, 1875(2), article 188514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbcan.2021.188514