Detection of Circulating Tumor Cell-Related Markers in Gynecologic Cancer Using Microfluidic Devices: A Pilot Study

The detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is an emerging strategy for the early detection, prognostication, and identification of recurrent cancer. The clinical utility of CTC detection has been established, but few studies have employed this strategy for the detection of gynecologic cancers. Here, we present a novel, biochip-based microfluidic device for the detection of CTCs in gynecologic cancers. The study cohort included three patients with cervical cancer, eight with endometrial cancer, two with ovarian cancer, two with breast cancer, and one with vaginal small cell carcinoma. Four cancer type-specific molecular markers (PanCK, GATA3, HER2, and HE4), as well as CD13, were used for prognostication and recurrence detection, along with downstream genomic analysis. GATA3 and HER2 were markedly expressed in the patients with cervical cancer, and this expression was strongly correlated with the early detection of recurrent disease. All four molecular markers were expressed preoperatively in the patients with endometrial cancer, and the re-expression of different markers was observed at follow-up before recurrence was confirmed. CD13 was identified as an alternative prognostic marker for both cervical and endometrial cancer. Our pilot study indicated that the novel CTC detection system can be used for prognostication and early detection of disease recurrence, which needed further investigation.