Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (EHBH), the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Clinical Research Center, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Sci Rep. 2016 Dec 23;6:39808. doi: 10.1038/srep39808.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) originate from tumor tissues and are associated with cancer prognosis. However, existing technologies for CTC detection are limited owing to a lack of specific or accurate biomarkers. Here, we developed a new method for CTC detection based on the karyoplasmic ratio, without biomarkers. Consecutive patients with liver cancer or non-cancer liver diseases were recruited. CTCs in blood samples were analyzed by imaging flow cytometry based on the karyoplasmic ratio as well as EpCAM and CD45. Microvascular invasion (MVI), tumor recurrence, and survival were recorded for all patients. A total of 56.2 ± 23.8/100,000 cells with high karyoplasmic ratios (HKR cells) were detected in cancer patients, which was higher than the number of HKR cells in the non-cancer group (7.6 ± 2.2/100,000). There was also a difference in HKR cells between liver cancer patients with and without MVI. Based on a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the threshold was 21.8 HKR cells per 100,000 peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and the area under the curve was higher than those of traditional methods (e.g., CD45 and EpCAM staining). These results indicate that the new CTC detection method was more sensitive and reliable than existing methods. Accordingly, it may improve clinical CTC detection.
循环肿瘤细胞 (CTCs) 源自肿瘤组织，与癌症预后相关。然而，由于缺乏特异性或准确的生物标志物，现有的 CTC 检测技术受到限制。在这里，我们开发了一种新的基于核浆比的 CTC 检测方法，无需生物标志物。连续招募肝癌或非肝癌肝病患者。通过基于核浆比以及 EpCAM 和 CD45 的成像流式细胞术分析血液样本中的 CTC。记录所有患者的微血管侵犯 (MVI)、肿瘤复发和生存情况。在癌症患者中检测到的高核浆比 (HKR) 细胞数量为 56.2±23.8/100,000 个细胞，高于非癌症组的 HKR 细胞数量 (7.6±2.2/100,000 个细胞)。MVI 阳性和阴性肝癌患者之间的 HKR 细胞也存在差异。基于受试者工作特征曲线分析，阈值为 21.8 HKR 细胞/100,000 个外周血单核细胞，曲线下面积高于传统方法 (例如 CD45 和 EpCAM 染色)。这些结果表明，新的 CTC 检测方法比现有方法更敏感和可靠。因此，它可能会改善临床 CTC 检测。
