CTCs and Novel Target Bio-marker Analysis for Prediction and Monitoring of Metastasis/Recurrence in Post-surgery Colorectal Cancer Patients Using MiSelect R Rare Cell System

Despite the growing public awareness and recent progress in multimodality therapy to the colorectal cancer (CRC), CRC still ranks high on the list of the most common and deadly cancers in Taiwan. The cause of CRC mortality is due mainly to the occurrence of distant metastasis. Several reports suggested that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) highly associated with metastasis suggesting that targeting CTCs may offer an unprecedented opportunity to prevent the development of metastasis. Early detection and characterization of CTCs is therefore important as a potential strategy to monitor the progression of CRC. The current proposal is focused on detecting CTCs from peripheral blood of CRC patients using Miselect R system. We will monitor the amount of CTCs and correlate with CRC progression and prognosis.