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Updated: May 10, 2026
Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Colorectal Cancer
Published on: July 18, 2017
Circulating tumor cells in metastatic colorectal cancer: do we need an alternative cutoff?
P Gazzaniga1, C Raimondi, A Gradilone
1Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00141 Rome, Italy. paola.gazzaniga@uniroma1.it
Purpose:
To assess the prognostic and predictive value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) irrespective of detection level.
Materials And Methods:
We evaluated the prognostic and predictive significance of CTC count at baseline and under treatment in 119 mCRC subjects and compared the standard cutoff (≥3 CTCs/7.5 mL to ≥1 CTCs/7.5 mL).
Results:
An overall comparison was made between patients with 0, 1-2 and ≥3 CTC (median PFS 8, 4 and 5 months, respectively). Two poor prognostic groups were found, including patients with ≥1 CTCs before and during treatment and patients with 0 CTC at baseline who converted to ≥1 CTCs (p = 0.014).
Conclusions:
The presence of at least 1 CTC at baseline count is predictive for poor prognosis in mCRC patients. Patients with 1-2 CTC should be switched from the favorable prognostic group--conventionally defined by the presence of <3 CTC--to the unfavorable, deserving a more careful monitoring.
