Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan
Anticancer Res. 2021 Feb;41(2):885-893. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.14841.
BACKGROUND/AIM: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may be affected by the environment encountered during blood circulation. We aimed to explore the association between the molecular phenotype of CTCs and systemic inflammatory markers.
CTCs isolated from patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by CD45-negative selection were analyzed for the expression of multiple genes. The correlations between gene expression levels in CTCs and systemic inflammation markers were examined.
Thirty-five (83.3%) of the 42 patients were positive for CTCs. No significant differences in systemic inflammatory markers were observed between CTC-positive and CTC-negative patients. Notably, VIM or ZEB2 expression was strongly correlated with that of CD44 or ALDH1. PIK3CA, CD44, ALDH1A1, and PDCD1LG2 expression in CTCs was correlated with lymphocyte- and/or albumin-related systemic inflammatory markers.
CTCs acquire a survival advantage through phenotypic alterations in the hostile blood environment, and evade circulatory immune surveillance.
背景/目的：循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）可能会受到血液循环过程中遇到的环境的影响。我们旨在探索 CTC 分子表型与全身炎症标志物之间的关联。
通过 CD45 阴性选择从复发性/转移性头颈部鳞状细胞癌患者中分离出的 CTC 进行了多种基因表达分析。检查了 CTC 中基因表达水平与全身炎症标志物之间的相关性。
42 名患者中有 35 名（83.3%）的 CTC 呈阳性。CTC 阳性和 CTC 阴性患者的全身炎症标志物无显著差异。值得注意的是，VIM 或 ZEB2 的表达与 CD44 或 ALDH1 强烈相关。CTC 中的 PIK3CA、CD44、ALDH1A1 和 PDCD1LG2 表达与淋巴细胞和/或白蛋白相关的全身炎症标志物相关。
CTC 通过在恶劣的血液环境中发生表型改变而获得生存优势，并逃避循环免疫监视。
