简介:Currentlytheclinicalmanagementofbreastcancerreliesonrelativelyfewprognostic/predictiveclinicalmarkers(estrogenreceptor,progesteronereceptor,HER2),basedonprimarytumorbiology.Circulatingbiomarkers,suchascirculatingtumorDNA(ctDNA)orcirculatingtumorcells(CTCs)mayenhanceourtreatmentoptionsbyfocusingontheverycellsthatarethedirectprecursorsofdistantmetastaticdisease,andprobablyinherentlydifferentthantheprimarytumor'sbiology.Toshiftthecurrentclinicalparadigm,assessingtumorbiologyinrealtimebymolecularlyprofilingCTCsorctDNAmayservetodiscovertherapeutictargets,detectminimalresidualdiseaseandpredictresponsetotreatment.Thisreviewservestoelucidatethedetection,characterization,andclinicalapplicationofCTCsandctDNAwiththegoalofprecisiontreatmentofbreastcancer.