Improved Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in One-Tube Assay in Breast...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Cell Biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating cancer-associated fibroblasts (cCAFs) are established indicators of cancer progression.
• Simultaneous analysis of CTCs and cCAFs, especially with diverse phenotypes, has been technically challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simultaneously analyze CTCs and cCAFs in breast cancer patients' peripheral blood.
• To investigate the association of different CTC phenotypes and cCAFs with cancer progression and metastasis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized DAPI/pan-keratin (K)/vimentin (V)/alpha-SMA/CD29/CD45/CD31 immunofluorescent staining.
• Employed novel imaging flow cytometry (imFC) technology for simultaneous detection.
• Analyzed peripheral blood samples from 210 breast cancer patients.

Main Results:

• Detected CTCs (including epithelial and EMT-related phenotypes) in 27.6% of patients, correlating with metastases.
• EMT-related CTCs showed increased interaction with normal cells and association with therapy progression.
• cCAFs coincided with CTCs in 3.3% of patients, correlating with metastases, especially visceral ones.

Conclusions:

• Imaging flow cytometry (imFC) is advantageous for liquid biopsy, enabling multimarker analysis of CTCs and cCAFs.
• Co-detection of CTCs and cCAFs can enhance the identification of high-risk patients and improve therapy monitoring.
• Analysis of diverse CTC phenotypes alongside cCAFs provides a more comprehensive view of cancer progression.