1175 / 1851
Micrometastases outside the field
Limit for
diagnosis
• Limit for detection of micro-deposits is ~10
8
-10
9
cells
• In solid tumours chemotherapy seldom achieves SF<10
-6
• Even metastatic deposits <0.1g may contain 10
7
-10
8
cells.
• If the majority of these are clonogenic, then standard CT
may fail to control even small amounts of disseminated
disease.