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Portal vein-circulating tumor cells predict liver metastases in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer patients underwent surgical resection often present distant metastases early after surgery. Detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has been correlated to a worse oncological outcome in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The objective of this pilot study is to investigate the possible prognostic role of CTCs in patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer. In 20 patients undergoing pancreatic resection, 10 mL blood sample was collected intraoperatively from both systemic circulation (SC) and portal vein (PV). Blood sample was analyzed for CTCs with CellSearch® system. All patients underwent an oncologic follow-up for at least 3 years, quarterly. CTCs were detected in nine (45 %) patients: five patients had CTCs in PV only, three patients in both SC and PV, and one patient in SC only. CTC-positive and CTC-negative patients were similar for demographics and cancer stage pattern. No significant differences were found in both overall and disease-free survival between CTC-positive and CTC-negative patients. At 3-year follow-up, portal vein CTC-positive patients presented a higher rate of liver metastases than CTC-negative patients (53 vs. 8 %, p = 0.038). CTCs were found in 45 % of the patients. No correlation between CTCs and survival was found. The presence of CTCs in portal vein has been associated to higher rate of liver metastases after surgery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy

    Massimiliano Bissolati, Giovanni Burtulo, Gianpaolo Balzano & Marco Braga

  2. Division of Laboratory Medicine, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Maria Teresa Sandri & Laura Zorzino

Authors
  1. Massimiliano Bissolati
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  2. Maria Teresa Sandri
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  3. Giovanni Burtulo
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  4. Laura Zorzino
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  5. Gianpaolo Balzano
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  6. Marco Braga
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Correspondence to Marco Braga.

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Bissolati, M., Sandri, M.T., Burtulo, G. et al. Portal vein-circulating tumor cells predict liver metastases in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer. Tumor Biol. 36, 991–996 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-2716-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-2716-0

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