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A pilot study to explore circulating tumour cells in pancreatic cancer as a novel biomarker.
- Source :
-
British Journal of Cancer . 1/31/2012, Vol. 106 Issue 3, p508-516. 9p. 4 Color Photographs, 3 Charts, 2 Graphs. - Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Background:Obtaining tissue for pancreatic carcinoma diagnosis and biomarker assessment to aid drug development is challenging. Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) may represent a potential biomarker to address these unmet needs. We compared prospectively the utility of two platforms for CTC enumeration and characterisation in pancreatic cancer patients in a pilot exploratory study.Patients and methods:Blood samples were obtained prospectively from 54 consenting patients and analysed by CellSearch and isolation by size of epithelial tumour cells (ISET). CellSearch exploits immunomagnetic capture of CTCs-expressing epithelial markers, whereas ISET is a marker independent, blood filtration device. Circulating tumour cell expression of epithelial and mesenchymal markers was assessed to explore any discrepancy in CTC number between the two platforms.Results:ISET detected CTCs in more patients than CellSearch (93% vs 40%) and in higher numbers (median CTCs/7.5 ml, 9 (range 0-240) vs 0 (range 0-144)). Heterogeneity observed for epithelial cell adhesion molecule, pan-cytokeratin (CK), E-Cadherin, Vimentin and CK 7 expression in CTCs may account for discrepancy in CTC number between platforms.Conclusion:ISET detects more CTCs than CellSearch and offers flexible CTC characterisation with potential to investigate CTC biology and develop biomarkers for pancreatic cancer patient management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00070920
- Volume :
- 106
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- British Journal of Cancer
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 70981774
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2011.545