Table 1.

Clinical indications to CTC examination

Prediction of disease response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Indication of “additional” adjuvant therapy in residual disease

Observation after adjuvant therapy

CTC monitoring after adjuvant therapy and during metastatic disease

CTC-testing after resection of metastases and early prediction of disease relapse

Assessment of KRAS mutation status from CTC

Strategy of using CTC for the palliative treatment guidance

Typing of tumors with unknown primary site or duplicate tumors