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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
Detection and Monitoring of Tumor Associated Circulating DNA in Patient Biofluids
Published on: June 8, 2019
Detection of circulating tumor cells in colorectal and gastric cancer using a multiplex PCR assay
Aristeidis G Vaiopoulos1, Ioannis D Kostakis2, Eliona Gkioka3
1Department of Experimental Physiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece avaiopoulos@gmail.com.
Aim:
The aim of this study was the development of a multiplex-PCR assay for the detection of circulating tumor cells in patients with colorectal and gastric cancer.
Patients And Methods:
Peripheral blood samples were collected from 81 patients with colorectal cancer, 16 with gastric cancer and 38 healthy blood donors, as controls. The samples were processed for RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis and were subsequently analyzed for the expression of cytokeratin 19 (CK19), cytokeratin 20(CK20) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with multiplex PCR.
Results:
Statistical analysis revealed that the combination of CK19 and CK20 could be useful in the exclusion of colorectal cancer, as well as the diagnosis and exclusion of gastric cancer. Furthermore, the expression of EGFR was correlated with the presence of systemic disease in patients with colorectal cancer.
Conclusion:
Multiplex-PCR-based detection of circulating tumor cells could serve as a useful tool for the diagnosis, and monitoring of patients with colorectal and gastric cancer.
