Abstract:

Circulating tumor markers have been paid more attention in the application of the treatment for breast cancer, the level of which has extended from protein to gene, including traditional tumor markers, HER-2 extracellular domain, circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating RNA (ctRNA) and so on. As “liquid detection”, the detection of circulating tumor markers with real-time dynamic, easy operation, good reproducibility and other advantages are widely used in aiding early diagnosis, determining prognosis, prospectively predicting response or resistance to specific therapies, surveillance after primary surgery, and monitoring therapy in patients with advanced disease, The further study of circulating tumor markers may contribute to patient’s individual treatment.

Key words: Breast cancer, CA15-3, Carcino-embryonic antigen, Extracellular domain, Circulating tumor cells, Circulating tumor DNA, Circulating tumor RNA