This important book provides up-to-date information on a series of topical issues relating to the approach to minimal residual disease in breast cancer patients. It first explains how the study of minimal residual disease and circulating and disseminated tumor cells (CTCs/DTCs) can assist in the understanding of breast cancer metastasis. A series of chapters then discuss the various technologies available for the detection and characterization of CTCs and DTCs, pinpointing their merits and limitations. Detailed consideration is given to the relevance of CTCs and DTCs, and their detection, to clinical research and practice. The role of other blood-based biomarkers is also addressed, and the closing chapters debate the challenges facing drug and biomarker co-development and the use of CTCs for companion diagnostic development. This book will be of interest and assistance to all who are engaged in the modern management of breast cancer.
