Abstract
Abstract in English, Chinese Metastatic and recurrent tumors have been identified as the leading attribute to the lung cancer deaths. Cancer research has demonstrated the critical role circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play in the metastatic spread of carcinomas and the recurrence of lung cancer. The rapid advancement of technology in targeted therapy resolves the embarrassing situation for those late-stage patients whose tumor tissues cannot be obtained. CTCs, as a substitute for the tumor tissues, represent a decisive tool to the cancer treatment strategy. Thus, CTCs exert a fundamental role in the early detection of micro-metastasis, assisting in diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of the recurrent tumors, and subsequently choosing an individualized approach for the therapeutic treatment. This article will review the advances, which have been made in the research area of CTCs with the aid of its applications in cancer therapy. 转移和复发是肺癌患者死亡的主要原因。研究发现循环肿瘤细胞（circulating tumor cells, CTCs）在肺癌转移和复发中起着重要作用。而且随着靶向治疗的不断进步，对于晚期无法取得肺癌实体组织的患者，CTCs作为一种肺癌组织替代物可以决定治疗方案。所以CTCs在早期发现肺癌患者的微转移、检测肿瘤复发、评估预后和选择个体化治疗方案方面有着重要作用。本文针对CTCs的研究进展及肺癌领域的应用进行综述。