Feasibility study of expressing epcam + /vimentin + CTC in prostate cancer diagnosis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths; circulating tumor cells (CTC) are malignant cells that have broken off from original tumor or metastatic sites and extravasated into the blood vessels either naturally or maybe as a consequence of surgical procedures. This study aims to explore the feasibility of liquid biopsy technique to diagnose prostate cancer.

We constructed an assay platform integrating magnetic separation and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to effectively capture prostate cancer CTCs and evaluate the distribution between healthy volunteers and prostate cancer patients, respectively.

There was a significant difference in the number of CTCs between the healthy population and prostate cancer patients (P < 0.001). The results of the study showed that the CTCs capture identification system has good sensitivity and specificity in identifying prostate cancer patients.

The CTCs test allows us to accurately identify patients who are at high risk for prostate cancer, allowing for early intervention and treating patients effectively.