Joint quantitative measurement of hTERT mRNA in both peripheral blood and circulating tumor cells of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and its clinical significance

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignancy that arises from the mucosal epithelium of the nasopharynx, and its prognosis is relatively favorable. The 5-year overall survival rate in patients with locally advanced NPC currently exceeds 80%, but the development of individualized diagnosis and treatment at the molecular level is relatively lacking. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is the generic term for tumor cells that are present in the peripheral blood circulation. As a new biomarker with good clinical application prospects, the detection of CTCs has the advantages of being non-invasive, simple, and repeatable. By capturing and detecting CTCs in peripheral blood and monitoring the dynamic variation of its type and quantity, we can assess the biological characteristics of tumor in a timely manner and evaluate the therapeutic effect and prognosis of patients in advance, which will help to develop individualized treatments of tumors. The primary purposes of this review were the clinical application of CTCs in tumor stage determination, treatment efficacy evaluation, and prognosis prediction of NPC. In addition, we estimated the correlation between Epstein-Barr virus infection and CTCs and analyzed the difference in karyotypes and specific markers expressed on CTCs. We believe that our study will provide new insights and biomarkers for the individualized treatment of patients with NPC.

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Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Annals of Surgical Oncology ◽

10.1245/s10434-015-4392-8 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 22 (11) ◽

pp. 3674-3680 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Daisuke Matsushita ◽

Yoshikazu Uenosono ◽

Takaaki Arigami ◽

Shigehiro Yanagita ◽

Yuka Nishizono ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽

Cell Carcinoma ◽

Tumor Cells ◽

Circulating Tumor Cells ◽

Clinical Significance ◽

Squamous Cell ◽

Peripheral Blood

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Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cells, Including Cancer Stem-Like Cells, in Peripheral Blood for Recurrence and Prognosis in Patients With Dukes' Stage B and C Colorectal Cancer

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2010.30.5151 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 29 (12) ◽

pp. 1547-1555 ◽

Cited By ~ 193

Author(s):

Hisae Iinuma ◽

Toshiaki Watanabe ◽

Koshi Mimori ◽

Miki Adachi ◽

Naoko Hayashi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Prognostic Factor ◽

Tumor Cells ◽

Circulating Tumor Cells ◽

Clinical Significance ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Significant Prognostic Factor ◽

Curative Surgery ◽

Validation Set

Purpose Using multiple genetic markers, including cancer stem-like cells, we evaluated the clinical significance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as a prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in the peripheral blood (PB) of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) who had undergone curative surgery. Patients and Methods In a multi-institutional study, 735 patients with CRC were assigned to a retrospective training set (n = 420) or prospective validation set (n = 315). CTCs that expressed carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin (CK) 19, CK20, and/or CD133 (CEA/CK/CD133) mRNA in PB were detected using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. Results In the training sets, OS and DFS of patients who were positive for CEA/CK/CD133 were significantly worse than those of patients who were negative for these markers (P < .001). At each staging analysis, OS and DFS of patients with Dukes' stage B or C cancer who were positive for CEA/CK/CD133 were significantly worse than those of patients who were negative for these markers (P < .003 and P < .001 in Dukes' stage B; P < .001 in Dukes' stage C). In contrast, in patients with Dukes' stage A, no significant differences were seen between patients who were positive for these markers and those who were negative. Cox multivariate analysis demonstrated that CEA/CK/CD133 was a significant prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.84; 95% CI, 2.41 to 6.22; P < .001) and DFS (HR, 3.02; 95% CI, 1.83 to 5.00; P < .001). In particular, in patients with Dukes' stage B and C cancer, CEA/CK/CD133 demonstrated significant prognostic value. In validation sets, similar results were confirmed in patients with Dukes' stage B and C cancer. Conclusion In patients with Dukes' stage B and C CRC who require adjuvant chemotherapy, detection of CEA/CK/CD133 mRNA in PB is a useful tool for determining which patients are at high risk for recurrence and poor prognosis.

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