Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and hTERT gene expression in CTCs for radiotherapy effect with lung cancer

Abstract Background Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important biological indicators of the lung cancer prognosis, and CTC counting and typing may provide helpful biological information for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Methods The CTC count in blood before and after radiotherapy was detected by the CanPatrol™ CTC analysis system, and the CTC subtypes and the expression of hTERT before and after radiotherapy were detected by multiple in situ hybridization. The CTC count was calculated as the number of cells per 5 mL of blood. Results The CTC positivity rate in patients with tumors before radiotherapy was 98.44%. Epithelial–mesenchymal CTCs (EMCTCs) were more common in patients with lung adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma than in patients with small cell lung cancer (P = 0.027). The total CTCs (TCTCs), EMCTCs, and mesenchymal CTCs (MCTCs) counts were significantly higher in patients with TNM stage III and IV tumors (P 1 (P = 0.022 and P = 0.024, respectively). The TCTCs and EMCTCs counts before and after radiotherapy affected the overall response rate (ORR) (P