Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters are highly efficient metastatic seeds in various cancers. Yet, their genetic heterogeneity and clonal architecture is poorly characterized. Using whole-exome sequencing coupled with phylogenetic inference from CTC clusters of patients with breast and prostate cancer, as well as mouse cancer models alongside barcode-mediated clonal tracking in vivo, we demonstrate oligoclonal composition of individual CTC clusters. These results improve our understanding of metastasis-relevant clonal dynamics.

中文翻译：

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系统发育推断揭示了循环肿瘤细胞簇中的克隆异质性

循环肿瘤细胞 （CTC） 簇是各种癌症中的高效转移种子。然而，它们的遗传异质性和克隆结构的表征很差。使用全外显子组测序结合来自乳腺癌和前列腺癌患者 CTC 簇的系统发育推断，以及小鼠癌症模型以及体内条形码介导的克隆追踪，我们展示了单个 CTC 簇的寡克隆组成。这些结果提高了我们对转移相关克隆动力学的理解。