TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of three distinct methods for the detection of circulating tumor cells in colorectal cancer patients
AU - Gervasoni, Annalisa
AU - Sandri, Maria Teresa
AU - Nascimbeni, Riccardo
AU - Zorzino, Laura
AU - Cassatella, Maria Cristina
AU - Baglioni, Luigi
AU - Panigara, Sara
AU - Gervasi, Maria
AU - Di Lorenzo, Diego
AU - Parolini, Ornella
PY - 2011/6
Y1 - 2011/6
N2 - The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has considerable utility in the clinical management of patients with solid cancers. However, the phenotypic heterogeneity of CTCs and their low numbers in the bloodstream of patients means that no standardized detection method currently exists for these cells. This, together with differences in pre-analytical sample processing, has led to the collection and accumulation of inconsistent data among independent studies. Here, we compare the ability of three methods to detect CTCs in the blood of colorectal cancer patients. Specifically, different aliquots of the same blood sample were screened for the presence of CTCs by a multimarker RT-PCR assay, the standardized CellSearch assay and dHPLC-based gene mutation analysis. In the population tested, none of the blood samples analysed appeared to be positive by all three methods. Of the samples, 75% were positive for the presence of CTCs by the RT-PCR method. Only 20% were positive by the CellSearch assay, while 14.3% of samples displayed gene mutations consistent with the presence of CTCs when the dHPLC method was applied. The samples which were positive for CTCs by the CellSearch assay did not overlap with those that were positive by dHPLC. Interestingly, however, all of these samples were positive when assessed by RT-PCR. Conversely, of the samples that resulted negative by RT-PCR analysis, none appeared to be positive by either of the other methods. These data, therefore, indicate that of the three methods tested, the multimarker RT-PCR assay provides maximal probability of CTC detection. Here, we present the preliminary results of an ongoing clinical study. Future follow-up involving detection of CTCs in the blood of colorectal cancer patients using these three distinct methods will allow us to verify whether either a single method, or a combination of different assays, is necessary to uncover further prognostic significance of circulating tumor cells.
AB - The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has considerable utility in the clinical management of patients with solid cancers. However, the phenotypic heterogeneity of CTCs and their low numbers in the bloodstream of patients means that no standardized detection method currently exists for these cells. This, together with differences in pre-analytical sample processing, has led to the collection and accumulation of inconsistent data among independent studies. Here, we compare the ability of three methods to detect CTCs in the blood of colorectal cancer patients. Specifically, different aliquots of the same blood sample were screened for the presence of CTCs by a multimarker RT-PCR assay, the standardized CellSearch assay and dHPLC-based gene mutation analysis. In the population tested, none of the blood samples analysed appeared to be positive by all three methods. Of the samples, 75% were positive for the presence of CTCs by the RT-PCR method. Only 20% were positive by the CellSearch assay, while 14.3% of samples displayed gene mutations consistent with the presence of CTCs when the dHPLC method was applied. The samples which were positive for CTCs by the CellSearch assay did not overlap with those that were positive by dHPLC. Interestingly, however, all of these samples were positive when assessed by RT-PCR. Conversely, of the samples that resulted negative by RT-PCR analysis, none appeared to be positive by either of the other methods. These data, therefore, indicate that of the three methods tested, the multimarker RT-PCR assay provides maximal probability of CTC detection. Here, we present the preliminary results of an ongoing clinical study. Future follow-up involving detection of CTCs in the blood of colorectal cancer patients using these three distinct methods will allow us to verify whether either a single method, or a combination of different assays, is necessary to uncover further prognostic significance of circulating tumor cells.
KW - CellSearch assay
KW - Circulating tumor cells
KW - Colorectal cancer
KW - dHPLC
KW - Gene mutation
KW - Method comparison
KW - Multimarker RT-PCR assay
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U2 - 10.3892/or.2011.1231
DO - 10.3892/or.2011.1231
M3 - Article
C2 - 21455578
AN - SCOPUS:79954496657
VL - 25
SP - 1669
EP - 1676
JO - Oncology Reports
JF - Oncology Reports
SN - 1021-335X
IS - 6
ER -