Szczepanik A, et al. - Given that the phenotypic heterogeneity of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in peripheral blood and disseminated tumor cells (DTC) in bone marrow is an important constraint for clinical decision making, researchers examined the implications of two different subpopulations of these cells in gastric cancer (GC) via GC subjects who had elective gastric resections and were prospectively studied for CTC/DTC. Among patients with distant metastases, CK⁺CD44⁺ cells were significantly more common. On the other hand, no such associations were shown for CK⁺CD44^- cells. In patients with gastric cancer, CD44⁺ phenotype of cytokeratin-positive cells in blood and bone marrow was an independent prognostic factor.