The clinical utility of circulationg tumor cells: Analysis of these cells may have the potential to assist with screening and diagnosing cancer

Clinicians have long sought rapid and accurate methods to screen for and track the progression of cancer. Current technologies include the use of blood tests to screen for certain biomarkers such as PSA level as an indication of prostate cancer (although there are often problems with the sensitivity and specificity of such tests), along with imaging methods such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (imaging tests however, often require patients to have tumors above a certain size-usually about 1 cm to yield positive results).