Beijing Neurosurgical Insititute, Capital Medical University, Tiantan xili 6#, Beijing, 100050, China.
Key laboratory of central nervous system injury research, Tiantan xili 6#, Beijing, 100050, China.
BMC Cancer. 2018 Mar 27;18(1):336. doi: 10.1186/s12885-018-4162-7.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells that have shed from a primary tumor and circulate in the peripheral blood. Recent experimental and clinical studies show that CTCs can be detected in early-stage disease.
We report three cases of pituitary adenoma (PA) in which tumor cells with particles were detected in the interstitial vascular compartment by transmission electron microscopy. Tumors were completely resected. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a β-catenin score of 10.5 ± 1.5 in the three cases with CTCs compared with 2.4 ± 0.5 in 24 control adenomas. The Ki-67 labeling index was 2.1 ± 0.7 in CTCs vs. 0.2 ± 0.3 in control cases (p = 0.043), and the p53 score was 4.33 ± 1.3 vs. 0.31 ± 0.17 (p = 0.000). The E-cadherin score did not differ significantly between the two groups.
CTCs can be detected in benign tumors such as PAs and not only in late-stage malignant tumors with apparent distant metastases. The present findings suggest that pituitary carcinomas develop from adenomas.
循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）是从原发性肿瘤脱落并在周围血液中循环的肿瘤细胞。最近的实验和临床研究表明，CTC 可以在早期疾病中检测到。
我们报告了三例垂体腺瘤（PA）病例，通过透射电子显微镜在间质血管腔中检测到带有颗粒的肿瘤细胞。肿瘤被完全切除。免疫组织化学分析显示，在有 CTC 的三个病例中β-连环蛋白评分分别为 10.5±1.5，而在 24 个对照腺瘤中为 2.4±0.5。在 CTC 中 Ki-67 标记指数为 2.1±0.7，而在对照病例中为 0.2±0.3（p=0.043），p53 评分分别为 4.33±1.3 和 0.31±0.17（p=0.000）。两组之间 E-钙黏蛋白评分无显著差异。
CTC 不仅可以在晚期伴有明显远处转移的恶性肿瘤中检测到，也可以在良性肿瘤如 PAs 中检测到。本研究结果表明，垂体腺癌是由腺瘤发展而来的。
