OncoTargets and Therapy (Oct 2019)
The Prognostic Values Of Circulating Tumor Cells In Lung Carcinoma: An Analysis On 98 Chinese Patients
Abstract
Min-Hua Tan,1,* Zhi-Geng Zhong,2,* Pan-Long Chen,3,* Yi-Xing Zhou3 1Department of Pathology, First People’s Hospital of Zhaoqing City, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, First People’s Hospital of Zhaoqing City, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurosurgery, First People’s Hospital of Zhaoqing City, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yi-Xing ZhouDepartment of Neurosurgery, First People’s Hospital of Zhaoqing City, No. 9 Donggang East Road, Duanzhou District, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province 526060, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/fax +86-758-2102860Email [email protected]: To examine the prognostic values of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with advanced lung cancer.Patients and methods: A total of 98 patients with their CTCs enumerated in 2017 was recruited. Data were retrieved from medical records for comparison. Patients’ overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were studied using Kaplan-Meier curve with log rank test.Results: Seventy-three percent of the patients were male, and nearly half of the patients (44.8%) were smokers. Most tumors were adenocarcinoma (73.4%), and about 60% of the cases were diagnosed at stage IV. Half of the patients showing less than nine CTCs. Patients’ OS were significantly associated with total CTC count (P=0.047), epithelial CTC count (P=0.027), mixed CTC count (P=0.004), and use of adjuvant chemotherapy (P=0.001). For PFS, it was strongly associated with tumor backgrounds (T stage, P=0.002; M stage, P=0.001; TMN stage, P<0.001), cancer biomarkers (CEA, P=0.004; CA125, P=0.004; CA153, P=0.045), and treatment strategy (surgical intervention, P=0.025; first-line chemotherapy, P<0.001).Conclusion: The present study clearly indicated the significant associations between CTC and overall survival of patients with lung cancer.Keywords: circulating tumor cells, survival, lung cancer, prognostic values
