Abstract
Purpose To investigate the correlation between the status of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods The demographic data and blood samples of 21 patients with ESCC were collected retrospectively. CTCs were enriched by using optimized CanPatrolTM CTC enrichment technique. CTCs were identified and characterized according to the EMT markers (e-CTCs: epithelial CTCs; mix-CTCs: epithelial-mesenchymal-mixed CTCs; m-CTCs: mesenchymal CTCs). The correlation between CTCs and demographic data was analyzed. Results Total 129 CTCs were detected in all the patients: 11(8.5%) CTCs of them were e-CTCs, 76(58.9%) were mix-CTCs, and 42(32.6%) were m-CTCs. The average number of CTCs from each patient was 6.1 ± 7.1 which included 0.5 ± 0.9 of e-CTCs, 3.6 ± 5.2 of mix-CTCs, and 2.0 ± 2.7 of m-CTCs; the difference between the three groups was significant (P = 0.017): the number of total CTCs was correlated with the number of mix-CTCs (R2 = 0.883, P < 0.01) and m-CTCs (R2 = 0.639, P < 0.01) but not e-CTCs (R2 = 0.012, P = 0.641) and the number of CTCs was correlated with the N stage and TNM stage in this study (R2 = 0.698 and R2 = 0.359). Conclusions Mix-CTCs and m-CTCs might play an important role in progression of ESCC; the number of CTCs in ESCC might have the potential to be a predictor of prognosis.
Highlights
Esophageal cancer ranks 5th in morbidity and 4th in mortality of all diagnosed cancers in China
Total 129 circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were detected in all the patients, 11(8.5%) CTCs of them were epithelial CTCs (e-CTCs), 76(58.9%) were mix-CTCs, and 42(32.6%) were mesenchymal CTCs (m-CTCs)
As the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in the dissemination of tumor cells [8], we think that the conclusions from CellSearch6 System might have some limitations in the field of tumor progression; the similar result was reported in other study [21]
Summary
Esophageal cancer ranks 5th in morbidity and 4th in mortality of all diagnosed cancers in China. In Asian, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) accounts for over 90% of all cases of esophageal cancer [1]; the poor prognosis is largely due to the rapid progress of local recurrences and metastasis. There are no specific tumor markers for early and small recurrences. The circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been used as a “window” to monitor tumor prognosis [2]. The CTCs counts in blood sample from a patient with esophageal cancer were in accordance with imaging scans at several time points [3]. With the advantage of accessible sampling, CTCs can investigate tumor progression in real time and monitor the response to further treatment [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
