Abstract:

Advanced breast cancer is the first malignant tumor that seriously threathens the health of women worldwide. Comprehensive treatment is the current major treatment， including chemotherapy， endocrine therapy and targeted therapy. Short-term recurrence and metastasis are the most crucial risk that restrict clinical efficacy and lead to poor prognosis. However， imaging and traditional serum markers are difficult to monitor the recurrence of tumor cell levels in a timely manner， leading to delayed clinical decision-making. Therefore， the development of sensitive， accurate， none／low invasive efficacy monitoring method is critical. Circulating tumor DNA （ctDNA） is a kind of DNA free from plasma and derived from tumor cells during the process of necrosis， apoptosis and secretion. A number of studies have shown that it has a huge potential in detection of ctDNA mutation levels in the early diagnosis of cancer， medication guidance， relapse monitoring. This review summarizes recent research progress on it.

Key words:

Breast cancer')">"> Breast cancer, Circulating tumor DNA（ctDNA）, Tumor burden, Drug-resistance