Progress of circulating tumor cells in clinical application of lung cancer

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) refer to tumor cells that shed from the primary tumor lesions and/or metastases into the peripheral blood circulation.At present, CTCs are the main research object of " liquid biopsy" , they have become one of the most promising project in cancer research.Deeper and more comprehensive studies of CTCs will help to guide and promote the clinical application of CTCs.In this paper, the clinical applications of the advantages and disadvantages of detecting CTCs and the biological characteristics of CTCs are summarized. Key words: Circulating tumor cells; Lung cancer; Biological characteristics