fig3

Figure 3. Molecular profiling and clinical application of CTCs. A: Immunohistochemical analysis of the expression of CD44 and MET in primary tumor (M0, nonmetastatic stage), bone metastasis and CTC-induced bone xenograft after transplantation of sorted CTCs; B: FISH images of a patient with metastatic breast cancer have no detectable HER-2 amplification (top panel), and the lower panel is HER-2 amplified CTC; C: the expression heatmap of epithelial, hematopoietic, and endothelial markers in primary tumors and classical epithelial CTCs (CTC-c). Epithelial and mesenchymal genes differentially expressed in CTCs vs. tumors; D: Kaplan-Meier curves of overall survival according to CTC change after one cycle of chemotherapy; E: overall survival (OS) and PFS in patients with metastatic breast cancer for whom therapy failed to reduce CTCs at first follow-up (approximately 21 days after first dose of chemotherapy), or randomly assigned to maintain the original chemotherapy (arm C1) or to switch to an alternative chemotherapy (arm C2). A: Copyright Nature Publishing Group, 2013. Reproduced with permission from reference^[4]; B: Copyright Dove Medical Press, 2016. Reproduced with permission from reference^[67]; C: Copyright Cell Press, 2014. Reproduced with permission from reference^[75]; D: Copyright Elsevier, 2014. Reproduced with permission from reference^[79]; E: Copyright American Society of Clinical, 2014. Reproduced with permission from reference^[80]