The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) is the largest among Hamburg's hospitals with approximately 1460 hospital beds. Each year the medical center treats around 80.000 in-patients. Additionally, approximately 260 000 out-patients as well as 113 000 emergency patients are treated. All common diseases are treated. Patients with complex diseases, cancer, and other disorders requiring a comprehensive treatment benefit from the interdisciplinary cooperation within the UKE. The UKE has formed the Comprehensive Cancer Centre (UCCH), comprising both, interdisciplinary cancer patient care and interdisciplinary cancer research matching the highest standards. Based on international peer review, the UCCH was awarded by the Deutsche Krebshilfe to be 1 of 11 “Top Centres of Excellence” (“Spitzenzentren”) in cancer care and cancer research in Germany. Breast, prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer are key focus indications of cancer research at the UKE. For the proposed project, we aim to collect peripheral blood from cohorts of breast and lung cancer patients. The clinical work-up of all patients will be performed according to the international guidelines. The Institute of Tumour Biology has a strong focus on translational research on cancer metastasis (in particular circulating and disseminated cancer cells and cell-free (cf) DNA/RNA) and is part of the UCCH. All relevant methodical aspects of patient recruitment, blood sampling, and CTC/ctDNA/cfRNA detection/characterization are well established and documented in our institution due to several previous and ongoing (but nor overlapping) projects. The pioneer work of Prof. Pantel and his team in the field of cancer micrometastasis, circulating tumour cells, and ctDNA as well as cfRNA is reflected by more than 300 publications in excellent high ranking biomedical and scientific journals (incl. NEJM, Lancet, Nature Journals, PNAS, JCO, JNCI, Cancer Res.) and has been awarded recently (AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research 2010, German Cancer Award 2010, ERC Advanced Investigator Grant 2011). Moreover, Prof Pantel is member of the Editorial Boards of several international cancer journals (e.g., Cancer Res., Clin. Cancer Res., Breast Cancer Res.) and organizer of international symposia (ISMRC) on minimal residual cancer and circulating tumour cells. K. Pantel is experienced in the scientific management of European networks in the field of tumour cell dissemination (e.g., coordinator of the FP6 STREP “DISMAL” (Disseminated Malignancies) and FP7 ERA-NET TRANSCAN project “CTC-SCAN”), and recipient of an ERC Advanced Investigator Grant.