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Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common malignant tumour of the genitourinary system. We aimed to analyse the potential value of metastasis-related biomarkers, circulating tumour cells (CTCs) and the proliferative marker Ki-67 in the diagnosis of RCC. Methods: Data from 24 laparoscopic radical nephrectomies (RNs) and 17 laparoscopic partial nephrectomies (PNs) were collected in 2018. The numbers and positive rates of CTCs and circulating tumour microemboli (CTM) in the peripheral blood were obtained at three different time points: just before surgery, immediately after surgery and 1 week after surgery. Ki-67 protein expression was evaluated in the RCC tissue by immunohistochemistry. Results: Except for the statistically significant association between the preoperative CTC counts and tumour size, no association between the number and positive rate of perioperative CTCs and clinicopathological features was found. The CTC counts gradually decreased during the perioperative period, and at 1 week after surgery, they were significantly lower than those before surgery. High Ki-67 expression was significantly positively correlated with preoperative CTC counts. In addition, Ki-67 expression was higher in the high CTC group (≥ 5 CTCs). Conclusion: Our results suggest that surgical nephrectomy is associated with a decrease in CTC counts in RCC patients. CTCs can act as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of RCC. A careful and sufficient long-term follow-up is needed for patients with high preoperative CTC counts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]