Circulating tumor cells dynamic as therapy surveillance of liver tumor surgery

Background/Purpose:

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are unique biomarkers of deadly metastasis, recurrence, and the main participants in all steps of metastatic progression. The aim of this work was to investigate:

1. the CTC dynamic in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients before and immediately after tumor resection;

2. the correlation between CTC release and tumor size, and surgical technique (laparoscopy vs. open resection).

Methods:

Blood samples from 5 groups with 15 to 20 subjects each were examined: (I) HCC, (II) non-HCC liver tumors, (III) benign liver tumors, (IV) patients without liver or tumor disease, and (V) healthy volunteers without surgery. The blood sampling from I-III was dropped just before surgery and after removal of the tumor. CTCs were detected using Flow Cytometry (FC) and Fluorescence Microscopy (FM).

Results:

In 12 of the 20 HCC patients (60%), CTCs could be detected. The rate of false-positive results was 5%. In patients with vascular invasion (V) more CTCs were detected after the surgery. The release of CTCs did not correlate with the tumor size.

Conclusions:

The HCC-specific detection of CTCs is possible with good specificity. The 'Liquid Biopsy' could be used as possible indicator of therapy efficacy in HCC patients and perioperative prognostic marker.