Progress in biological characteristics and clinical application of circulating tumor cells in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer ranks first among gynecologic malignancy-related mortalities.Early stage of ovarian cancer does not show specific symptoms, and most cases are diagnosed in advanced stages.The major causes of death are relapse and metastasis, and circulating tumor cells play fundamental roles in these processes.These tumor cells have been widely used recently in detection and prognostic evaluation of many types of malignant tumors.This work reviews the progress in biological characteristics of circulating tumor cells and their clinical application in ovarian cancer.