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Smit DJ, Pantel K. Circulating tumor cells as liquid biopsy markers in cancer patients. Mol Aspects Med 2024; 96:101258. [PMID: 38387225 DOI: 10.1016/j.mam.2024.101258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Over the past decade, novel methods for enrichment and identification of cancer cells circulating in the blood have been established. Blood-based detection of cancer cells and other tumor-associated products can be summarized under the term of Liquid Biopsy. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been used for diagnosis, risk stratification and treatment selection as well as treatment monitoring in several studies over the past years, thus representing a valuable biomarker for cancer patients. A plethora of methods to enrich, detect and analyze CTCs has been established. In contrast to other liquid biopsy analytes (e.g. ctDNA), CTCs represent a viable analyte that provides a unique opportunity to understand the underlaying biology of cancer and the metastatic cascade on the molecular level. In this review, we provide an overview on the current methods used for enrichment, detection, molecular and functional characterization of CTCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Smit
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
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Słomka A, Wang B, Mocan T, Horhat A, Willms AG, Schmidt-Wolf IGH, Strassburg CP, Gonzalez-Carmona MA, Lukacs-Kornek V, Kornek MT. Extracellular Vesicles and Circulating Tumour Cells - complementary liquid biopsies or standalone concepts? Theranostics 2022; 12:5836-5855. [PMID: 35966579 PMCID: PMC9373826 DOI: 10.7150/thno.73400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Liquid biopsies do promise a lot, but are they keeping it? In the past decade, additional novel biomarkers qualified to be called like that, of which, some took necessary hurdles resulting in FDA approval and clinical use. Some others are since a while around, well known and were once regarded to be a game changer in cancer diagnosis or cancer screening. But, during their clinical use limitations were observed from statistical significance and questions raised regarding their robustness, that eventually led to be dropped from associated clinical guidelines for certain applications including cancer diagnosis. The purpose of this review isn't to give a broad overview of all current liquid biopsy as biomarkers, weight them and promise a brighter future in cancer prevention, but rather to take a deeper look on two of those who do qualify to be called liquid biopsies now or then. These two are probably of greatest interest conceptually and methodically, and likely have the highest chances to be in clinical use soon, with a portfolio extension over their original conceptual usage. We aim to dig deeper beyond cancer diagnosis or cancer screening. Actually, we aim to review in depth extracellular vesicles (EVs) and compare with circulating tumour cells (CTCs). The latter methodology is partially FDA approved and in clinical use. We will lay out similarities as taking advantage of surface antigens on EVs and CTCs in case of characterization and quantification. But drawing readers' attention to downstream application based on capture/isolation methodology and simply on their overall nature, here apparently being living material eventually recoverable as CTCs are vs. dead material with transient effects on recipient cell as in case of EVs. All this we try to bring in perspective, compare and conclude towards which future direction we are aiming for, or should aim for. Do we announce a winner between CTCs vs EVs? No, but we provide good reasons to intensify research on them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artur Słomka
- Department of Pathophysiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-067 Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Bingduo Wang
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany.,Institute of Molecular Medicine & Experimental Immunology, University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Tudor Mocan
- Octavian Fodor Institute for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Iuliu Haţieganu, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Adelina Horhat
- Octavian Fodor Institute for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Iuliu Haţieganu, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Arnulf G Willms
- Institute of Molecular Medicine & Experimental Immunology, University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany.,Department of General, Visceral and Vascular Surgery, German Armed Forces Hospital Hamburg, 22049 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ingo G H Schmidt-Wolf
- Department of Integrated Oncology, Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO), University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Christian P Strassburg
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Maria A Gonzalez-Carmona
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Veronika Lukacs-Kornek
- Institute of Molecular Medicine & Experimental Immunology, University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Miroslaw T Kornek
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University, 53127 Bonn, Germany
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3
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Yu KH, Park J, Mittal A, Abou-Alfa GK, Dika IE, Epstein AS, Ilson DH, Kelsen DP, Ku GY, Li J, Park W, Varghese AM, Chou JFL, Capanu M, Cooper B, Bartlett A, McCarthy D, Sangar V, McCarthy B, O’Reilly EM. Circulating tumor and invasive cell expression profiling predicts effective therapy in pancreatic cancer. Cancer 2022; 128:2958-2966. [PMID: 35647938 PMCID: PMC10131181 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.34269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a refractory disease; however, modern cytotoxic chemotherapeutics can induce tumor regression and extend life. A blood-based, pharmacogenomic, chemosensitivity assay using gene expression profiling of circulating tumor and invasive cells (CTICs) to predict treatment response was previously developed. The combination regimen of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (G/nab-P) are established frontline approaches for treating advanced PDAC; however, there are no validated biomarkers for treatment selection. A similar unmet need exists for choosing second-line therapy. METHODS The chemosensitivity assay was evaluated in metastatic PDAC patients presenting for frontline treatment. A prospective study enrolled patients (n = 70) before receiving either FOLFIRINOX or G/nab-P at a 1:1 ratio. Six milliliters of peripheral blood was collected at baseline and at time of disease progression. CTICs were isolated, gene-expression profiling was performed, and the assay was used to predict effective and ineffective chemotherapeutic agents. Treating physicians were blinded to the assay prediction results. RESULTS Patients receiving an effective regimen as predicted by the chemosensitivity assay experienced significantly longer median progression-free survival (mPFS; 7.8 months vs. 4.2 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.35; p = .0002) and median overall survival (mOS; 21.0 months vs. 9.7 months; HR, 0.40; p = .005), compared with an ineffective regimen. Assay prediction for effective second-line therapy was explored. The entire study cohort experienced favorable outcomes compared with historical controls, 7.1-month mPFS and 12.3-month mOS. CONCLUSIONS Chemosensitivity assay profiling is a promising tool for guiding therapy in advanced PDAC. Further prospective validation is under way (clinicaltrials.gov NCT03033927).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth H. Yu
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - Jennifer Park
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
| | - Avni Mittal
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
| | - Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - Imane El Dika
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - Andrew S. Epstein
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - David H. Ilson
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - David P. Kelsen
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - Geoffrey Y. Ku
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - Jia Li
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - Wungki Park
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | - Anna M. Varghese
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Eileen M. O’Reilly
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
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Smit DJ, Pantel K, Jücker M. Circulating tumor cells as a promising target for individualized drug susceptibility tests in cancer therapy. Biochem Pharmacol 2021; 188:114589. [PMID: 33932470 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play a crucial role in metastasis and became an emerging topic in today's cancer research. In addition, the analysis of CTCs in liquid biopsies will be a valuable tool for prognosis prediction and real time therapy monitoring. The characterization of CTCs may open up a new field of treatment strategy to prevent metastasis or maintain a stable disease. In 2013, the first cell cultures of CTCs have been established in vitro. Additionally, functional studies have been successfully performed over the last years. Meanwhile, more than 300 short-term CTC cultures and 42 long-term CTC cultures from a variety of tumor entities have been described. More than 45 inhibitors have already been tested for their efficacy to target CTCs in several studies in vitro as well as in xenograft mouse models in vivo. Here, we summarize the currently available data of these inhibition experiments and their effects in targeting CTCs. The results suggest that CTCs may be useful for individualized drug susceptibility testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Smit
- Institute of Biochemistry and Signal Transduction, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Department of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Manfred Jücker
- Institute of Biochemistry and Signal Transduction, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
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Smit DJ, Cayrefourcq L, Haider MT, Hinz N, Pantel K, Alix-Panabières C, Jücker M. High Sensitivity of Circulating Tumor Cells Derived from a Colorectal Cancer Patient for Dual Inhibition with AKT and mTOR Inhibitors. Cells 2020; 9:cells9092129. [PMID: 32962206 PMCID: PMC7566012 DOI: 10.3390/cells9092129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cells shed from the primary tumor into the bloodstream. While many studies on solid tumor cells exist, data on CTCs are scarce. The mortality of cancer is mostly associated with metastasis and recent research identified CTCs as initiators of metastasis. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is an intracellular pathway that regulates essential functions including protein biosynthesis, cell growth, cell cycle control, survival and migration. Importantly, activating oncogenic mutations and amplifications in this pathway are frequently observed in a wide variety of cancer entities, underlining the significance of this signaling pathway. In this study, we analyzed the functional role of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in the CTC-MCC-41 line, derived from a patient with metastatic colorectal cancer. One striking finding in our study was the strong sensitivity of this CTC line against AKT inhibition using MK2206 and mTOR inhibition using RAD001 within the nanomolar range. This suggests that therapies targeting AKT and mTOR could have been beneficial for the patient from which the CTC line was isolated. Additionally, a dual targeting approach of AKT/mTOR inside the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in the colorectal CTCs showed synergistic effects in vitro. Depending on the phenotypical behavior of CTC-MCC-41 in cell culture (adherent vs. suspension), we identified altered phosphorylation levels inside the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. We observed a downregulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, but not of the RAS/RAF/MAPK pathway, in CTCs growing in suspension in comparison to adherent CTCs. Our results highlight distinct functions of AKT isoforms in CTC-MCC-41 cells with respect to cell proliferation. Knockdown of AKT1 and AKT2 leads to significantly impaired proliferation of CTC-MCC-41 cells in vitro. Therefore, our data demonstrate that the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway plays a key role in the proliferation of CTC-MCC-41.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Smit
- Institute of Biochemistry and Signal Transduction, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; (D.J.S.); (N.H.)
| | - Laure Cayrefourcq
- Laboratory of Rare Human Circulating Cells (LCCRH), University Medical Center of Montpellier, 34093 Montpellier, France; (L.C.); (C.A.-P.)
| | - Marie-Therese Haider
- Molecular Skeletal Biology Laboratory, Department of Trauma, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany;
| | - Nico Hinz
- Institute of Biochemistry and Signal Transduction, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; (D.J.S.); (N.H.)
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Department of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany;
| | - Catherine Alix-Panabières
- Laboratory of Rare Human Circulating Cells (LCCRH), University Medical Center of Montpellier, 34093 Montpellier, France; (L.C.); (C.A.-P.)
| | - Manfred Jücker
- Institute of Biochemistry and Signal Transduction, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; (D.J.S.); (N.H.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-(0)-40-7410-56339
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Dong H, Tulley S, Zhao Q, Cho L, Chen D, Pearl ML, Chen W. The propensity of invasive circulating tumor cells (iCTCs) in metastatic progression and therapeutic responsiveness. Cancer Med 2019; 8:3864-3874. [PMID: 31115187 PMCID: PMC6639176 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.2218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are important clinical indicators of metastatic progression and treatment efficacy. However, because of their low number and heterogeneity, reliable patient-derived CTC models are not readily available. We report here the isolation and characterization of the invasive population of CTCs, iCTCs, from blood of 10 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and one pancreatic cancer patient based on the avidity of tumor cells toward an artificial collagen-based adhesion matrix (CAM), in comparison with tumor progenitor (TP) cells isolated from tumor cell lines, tumors and ascites from EOC patients. CAM-avid cells identified to be iCTCs were indistinguishable with TP cells using either functional CAM uptake or surface markers (seprase and CD44). In addition, iCTCs were characterized using peritoneal and spontaneous metastasis models in vivo to evaluate their metastatic propensity and therapeutic response. TP cells and iCTCs had a doubling time of about 34-42 hours. TP cells were rare (<3.5%) in most patient-derived specimens, however, iCTCs emigrated into blood, at a high frequency, 64.2% (n = 49). Approximately 500 patient-derived iCTCs recapitulated formation of iCTCs in mouse blood and formed micrometastases in the liver and/or lung, a degree of metastatic spread equivalent to the inoculation of 5 × 105 bulk tumor cells isolated from ascites and tumors. iCTCs were shown to be novel therapeutic targets for blocking metastasis using the reduced formation of iCTCs and micrometastases by RNAi, peptides, and monoclonal antibodies against seprase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Dong
- Stony Brook MedicineStony BrookNew York
- Vitatex IncStony BrookNew York
| | - Shaun Tulley
- Stony Brook MedicineStony BrookNew York
- Vitatex IncStony BrookNew York
| | - Qiang Zhao
- Stony Brook MedicineStony BrookNew York
- Vitatex IncStony BrookNew York
| | - Leong Cho
- Stony Brook MedicineStony BrookNew York
| | | | | | - Wen‐Tien Chen
- Stony Brook MedicineStony BrookNew York
- Vitatex IncStony BrookNew York
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Yu KH, Ricigliano M, McCarthy B, Chou JF, Capanu M, Cooper B, Bartlett A, Covington C, Lowery MA, O'Reilly EM. Circulating Tumor and Invasive Cell Gene Expression Profile Predicts Treatment Response and Survival in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2018; 10:cancers10120467. [PMID: 30477242 PMCID: PMC6315371 DOI: 10.3390/cancers10120467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Revised: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that pharmacogenomic modeling of circulating tumor and invasive cells (CTICs) can predict response of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) to combination chemotherapy, predominantly 5-fluorouracil-based. We hypothesized that a similar approach could be developed to predict treatment response to standard frontline gemcitabine with nab-paclitaxel (G/nab-P) chemotherapy. Gene expression profiles for responsiveness to G/nab-P were determined in cell lines and a test set of patient samples. A prospective clinical trial was conducted, enrolling 37 patients with advanced PDAC who received G/nab-P. Peripheral blood was collected prior to treatment, after two months of treatment, and at progression. The CTICs were isolated based on a phenotype of collagen invasion. The RNA was isolated, cDNA synthesized, and qPCR gene expression analyzed. Patients were most closely matched to one of three chemotherapy response templates. Circulating tumor and invasive cells' SMAD4 expression was measured serially. The CTICs were reliably isolated and profiled from peripheral blood prior to and during chemotherapy treatment. Individual patients could be matched to distinct response templates predicting differential responses to G/nab-P treatment. Progression free survival was significantly correlated to response prediction and ΔSMAD4 was significantly associated with disease progression. These findings support phenotypic profiling and ΔSMAD4 of CTICs as promising clinical tools for choosing effective therapy in advanced PDAC, and for anticipating disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth H Yu
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | | | | | - Joanne F Chou
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | - Marinela Capanu
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | | | | | | | - Maeve A Lowery
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | - Eileen M O'Reilly
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
- Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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8
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Circulating tumor cells and cell-free nucleic acids in patients with gynecological malignancies. Virchows Arch 2018; 473:395-403. [PMID: 30145616 DOI: 10.1007/s00428-018-2447-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2018] [Revised: 08/10/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The ability to detect cancer cells in the blood or in the bone marrow offers invaluable information which potentially impacts early diagnosis, monitoring of treatment, and prognosis. Accessing blood or other body fluids has the additional advantage of being less invasive than biopsy. Consequently, considerable effort has been invested in the last 20 years in optimizing assays which may identify malignant cells at these anatomic sites. Detection of nucleic acids has been applied as alternative approach in this context, first targeting single cancer-associated genes using PCR-based technology, and recently using assays which identify different DNA classes, as well as microRNAs and exosomes. The present review focuses on studies which applied these assays to the detection of cells or cellular components originating from gynecological cancers.
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Po JW, Roohullah A, Lynch D, DeFazio A, Harrison M, Harnett PR, Kennedy C, de Souza P, Becker TM. Improved ovarian cancer EMT-CTC isolation by immunomagnetic targeting of epithelial EpCAM and mesenchymal N-cadherin. J Circ Biomark 2018; 7:1849454418782617. [PMID: 30013673 PMCID: PMC6043919 DOI: 10.1177/1849454418782617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2018] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)-targeted capture remains the most common isolation strategy for circulating tumor cells (CTCs). However, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) leads to decreased epithelial EpCAM expression affecting the optimal CTC capture. In this study, we tested a cohort of ovarian cancer cell lines using flow cytometry to identify N-cadherin as the additional immunomagnetic cell surface target for ovarian cancer cell isolation. Combined immunomagnetic targeting of mesenchymal N-cadherin and epithelial EpCAM enriched CTCs from advanced ovarian cancer patient blood approximately three times more efficiently than targeting of EpCAM alone. We also show that more EMT-phenotype CTCs are captured by including N-cadherin targeting into CTC isolation protocols. However, after N-cadherin-based CTC isolation, in some blood samples of healthy individuals, we also observed the presence of cells expressing markers common to CTCs. Our data show that these "false positives" can be largely distinguished from CTCs as circulating endothelial cells (CECs) by vascular endothelial-cadherin co-staining. CEC counts are highly variable in patients and healthy controls. Our data demonstrate that a combination of EpCAM with N-cadherin-targeted isolation can improve CTC detection and widen the EMT-phenotype spectrum of captured CTCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph W Po
- Centre for Circulating Tumour Cell Diagnostics and Research, Ingham
Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South
Wales, Australia
| | - Aflah Roohullah
- Centre for Circulating Tumour Cell Diagnostics and Research, Ingham
Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South
Wales, Australia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, New South
Wales, Australia
| | - David Lynch
- Centre for Circulating Tumour Cell Diagnostics and Research, Ingham
Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South
Wales, Australia
| | - Anna DeFazio
- Centre for Cancer Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research,
Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre Westmead, Westmead Hospital, New South
Wales, Australia
| | - Michelle Harrison
- Department of Medical Oncology, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, New South
Wales, Australia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown, New
South Wales, Australia
| | - Paul R Harnett
- Centre for Cancer Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research,
Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre Westmead, Westmead Hospital, New South
Wales, Australia
| | - Catherine Kennedy
- Centre for Cancer Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research,
Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre Westmead, Westmead Hospital, New South
Wales, Australia
| | - Paul de Souza
- Centre for Circulating Tumour Cell Diagnostics and Research, Ingham
Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South
Wales, Australia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, New South
Wales, Australia
- South Western Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Liverpool, New
South Wales, Australia
| | - Therese M Becker
- Centre for Circulating Tumour Cell Diagnostics and Research, Ingham
Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South
Wales, Australia
- Centre for Cancer Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research,
Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- South Western Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Liverpool, New
South Wales, Australia
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