[2][3] Traditionally, it was believed that CTC clusters needed to dissociate into individual cells during their journey through the bloodstream to seed secondary tumors.
However, recent studies show that CTC clusters can travel through the bloodstream intact, enabling them to perform every step of metastasis while maintaining their group/cluster structure.
Detecting and analyzing CTC clusters through liquid biopsies could offer valuable information about the aggressiveness and metastatic potential of cancers.
[5] Additionally, understanding the mechanisms that allow CTC clusters to retain their structure and survive in circulation opens new avenues for targeted cancer therapies designed to disrupt this process.
Continued studies will be essential to further elucidate the biological pathways involved in CTC cluster-mediated metastasis and develop potential treatment interventions.