Solid tumors derived from epithelial tissues (carcinomas) are responsible for 90% of all new cancers in Europe, and the main four tumor entities are breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer. Present tumor staging is mainly based on local tumor extension, metastatic lymph node involvement, and evidence of overt distant metastasis obtained by imaging technologies. However, these staging procedures are not sensitive enough to detect early tumor cell dissemination as a key event in tumor progression. Many teams have therefore focused on the development of sensitive assays that allow the specific detection of single tumor cells or small amounts of cell-free tumor DNA in the peripheral blood of cancer patients. These methods allow the detection and characterization of early metastatic spread and will provide unique insights into the biology of metastatic progression of human tumors, including the effects of therapeutic interventions.
