Fig 4 - uploaded by Mohamed Gamal Khattap Ghareb
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Caption Features of Homotypic Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Clusters. Once CTCs assemble into clusters, they establish favorable conditions for their survival through various mechanisms. Cancer cells preserve crucial intercellular junction molecules, including CD44, ICAM1, and plakoglobin, among others, to resist anoikis. The amalgamation of cancer cells induces hypomethylation in transcription factor binding sites associated with stem cells and proliferation, such as OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, and SIN3A. CTC clusters maintain a hypoxic environment, and there is a notable increase in the expression of PD-L1. Through these means, they successfully evade immune surveillance and lead to immune escape. Additionally, CTC clusters exhibit a mixed epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype, and when encountering small-diameter vessels, they organize into chains. Collectively, these characteristics contribute to the heightened metastatic capabilities of CTC clusters
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Breast cancer is a significant and deadly threat to women globally. Moreover, Breast cancer metastasis is a complicated process involving multiple biological stages, which is considered a substantial cause of death, where cancer cells spread from the original tumor to other organs in the body—representing the primary mortality factor. Circulating t...
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... (ScreenCell® MB) [119]. Using a blood-filtration technique, we identified CTC clusters in 6 6 EBC [120]. A unique flexible microspring array (FMSA) technology was recently developed to enrich viable CTCs according to their size, independent of antigen expression [121]. In colon, lung, and BC, FMSA detected CTC clusters of 2-20 tumor cells [121]. (Fig. ...
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