OBJECTIVE We investigated the correlation between circulating tumor cells and the incidence of brain metastases as a first site of recurrence among patients with small-cell lung cancer after systemic chemoradiotherapy and prophylactic cranial irradiation. In addition, we assessed the contribution of circulating tumor cells for planning the appropriate total dose of prophylactic cranial irradiat...

Tumor cells leave the primary tumor and enter the circulation. Once there, they are called circulating tumor cells (CTCs). A fraction of CTCs are capable of entering distant sites and persisting as disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). An even smaller fraction of DTCs are capable of progressing toward metastases. It is known that the DTC microenvironment plays an important role in sustaining their s...

Photoswitchable fluorescent proteins (PSFPs) that change their color in response to light have led to breakthroughs in studying static cells. However, using PSFPs to study cells in dynamic conditions is challenging. Here we introduce a method for in vivo ultrafast photoswitching of PSFPs that provides labeling and tracking of single circulating cells. Using in vivo multicolor flow cytometry, th...

Circulating tumor cells are responsible for seeding metastatic growth at distant sites. Kim et al. (2009) now discover that circulating tumor cells can reinfiltrate tumors at their primary organs and promote tumor progression.

primary and secondary malignant central nervous system (cns) tumors are devastating invasive tumors able to give rise to many kinds of differentiated tumor cells. glioblastoma multiform (gbm), is the most malignant brain tumor, in which its growth and persistence depend on cancer stem cells with enhanced dna damage repair program that also induces recurrence and resists current chemo- and radio...