Circulating Endothelial Cells and Their Subsets: Novel Biomarkers for Cancer

Abstract

Angiogenesis contributes to the growth of solid tumors. Antiangiogenic agents are widely used in various cancers and considerable efforts have been made in the development of novel biomarkers that can predict the outcome of an anticancer treatment. Of those, circulating endothelial cells (CECs) and their subsets constitute a surrogate tool for monitoring disease activity. However, owing to the lack of standardization on the phenotypes and detection of CECs and their subsets, results have always been inconsistent and uninterpretable. In this review, we focus on the biological characteristics in terms of physiology, phenotypes and detection of CECs along with their subsets; review the current scenario of CEC enumeration as a surrogate biomarker in clinical oncology; and explore their future potential applications.

Keywords::

• angiogenesis
• biomarkers
• cancer
• cancer therapy
• circulating endothelial cells
• phenotype
• technical challenges

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by Shenzhen Science founding JCYJ20160422162900408 and Shenzhen San Ming Project. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Shenzhen Science founding JCYJ20160422162900408 and Shenzhen San Ming Project. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.