PURPOSE: Circulating cell-free DNA in the blood of cancer patients harbors tumor-specific aberrations. Here, we investigated whether this DNA might also reflect the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: To identify the source of cell-free DNA in blood, plasma derived from 81 patients with prostate cancer was examined for CTCs and cell-free DNA. An epithelial immunospot assay was applied for detection of CTCs, and a PCR-based fluorescence microsatellite analysis with a panel of 14 polymorphic markers was used for detection of allelic imbalances (AI). RESULTS: The plasma DNA levels significantly correlated with the diagnosis subgroups of localized (stage M0, n = 69) and metastasized prostate cancer (stage M1, n = 12; P = 0.03) and with the tumor stage of these patients (P < 0.005). AI was found on cell-free DNA in plasma from 45.0% and 58.5% of M0 and M1 patients, respectively. Detection of CTCs showed that 71.0% or 92.0% of the M0 and M1 patients harbored 1 to 40 CTCs in their blood, respectively. The occurrence of CTCs correlated with tumor stage (P < 0.03) and increasing Gleason scores (P = 0.04). Notably, significant associations of the number of CTCs with the AI frequencies at the markers D8S137 (P = 0.03), D9S171 (P = 0.04), and D17S855 (P = 0.02) encoding the cytoskeletal protein dematin, the inhibitor of the cyclin-dependent kinase CDKN2/p16 and BRCA1, respectively, were observed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show, for the first time, a relationship between the occurrence of CTCs and circulating tumor-associated DNA in blood, which, therefore, might become a valuable new source for monitoring metastatic progression in cancer patients.
PURPOSE: Circulating cell-free DNA in the blood of cancerpatients harbors tumor-specific aberrations. Here, we investigated whether this DNA might also reflect the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: To identify the source of cell-free DNA in blood, plasma derived from 81 patients with prostate cancer was examined for CTCs and cell-free DNA. An epithelial immunospot assay was applied for detection of CTCs, and a PCR-based fluorescence microsatellite analysis with a panel of 14 polymorphic markers was used for detection of allelic imbalances (AI). RESULTS: The plasma DNA levels significantly correlated with the diagnosis subgroups of localized (stage M0, n = 69) and metastasized prostate cancer (stage M1, n = 12; P = 0.03) and with the tumor stage of these patients (P < 0.005). AI was found on cell-free DNA in plasma from 45.0% and 58.5% of M0 and M1 patients, respectively. Detection of CTCs showed that 71.0% or 92.0% of the M0 and M1 patients harbored 1 to 40 CTCs in their blood, respectively. The occurrence of CTCs correlated with tumor stage (P < 0.03) and increasing Gleason scores (P = 0.04). Notably, significant associations of the number of CTCs with the AI frequencies at the markers D8S137 (P = 0.03), D9S171 (P = 0.04), and D17S855 (P = 0.02) encoding the cytoskeletal protein dematin, the inhibitor of the cyclin-dependent kinase CDKN2/p16 and BRCA1, respectively, were observed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show, for the first time, a relationship between the occurrence of CTCs and circulating tumor-associated DNA in blood, which, therefore, might become a valuable new source for monitoring metastatic progression in cancerpatients.
Authors: H Takeshita; D Ichikawa; S Komatsu; M Tsujiura; T Kosuga; K Deguchi; H Konishi; R Morimura; A Shiozaki; H Fujiwara; K Okamoto; E Otsuji Journal: Br J Cancer Date: 2010-04-13 Impact factor: 7.640
Authors: Marcelo L Wroclawski; Ary Serpa-Neto; Fernando L A Fonseca; Oseas Castro-Neves-Neto; Alexandre S F L Pompeo; Marcos T Machado; Antonio C L Pompeo; Auro del Giglio Journal: Tumour Biol Date: 2013-05-29