Circulating tumor cells in the blood of poorly differentiated nasal squamous cell carcinoma patients: correlation with treatment response.

CONCLUSION: The results implied that CTCs were common even in early TNM stages and might become a potential parameter in evaluating therapeutic effects of radio and chemotherapies.

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a head and neck malignancy with an extraordinary high incidence in Southern China and a high metastasis rate. Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood is a relatively new prognostic marker for cancer patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included data from 38 nasopharyngeal patients with poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in TNM stage I (n = 2), TNM stage II (n = 12), TNM stage III (n = 8), and TNM stage IV (n = 16). CTCs in peripheral blood of all patients were counted before and 1 week as well as 1 months after radiotherapy.

RESULTS: The data showed that in 52.6% of the patients CTCs could be detected in peripheral blood and the numbers were significantly decreased 1 month after radiotherapy treatment (p < 0.001). There was no correlation between CTC number or positivity and TNM stages or other clinical parameters.