Clinical value of folate receptor-positive circulating tumor cells in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinomas: a retrospective study

• Published in: BMC cancer 2023-11, Vol.23 (1), p.1-1171, Article 1171
• Main Authors: Zhou, Qiang, He, Qiao, He, Wenwu, Wang, Chenghao, Liu, Guangyuan, Wang, Kangning, Li, Haojun, Li, Jialong, Xiao, Wenguang, Fang, Qiang, Peng, Lin, Han, Yongtao, Wang, Dongsheng, Leng, Xuefeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Albumin; Alcohol use; Biomarkers; C-reactive protein; Cancer therapies; Chemotherapy; Circulating tumor cells; Circulatory system; Decision making; Disease-free survival; Electron tubes; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal carcinoma; Esophageal squamous cell carcinomas; Ferritin; Folate receptor; Folic acid; Ligands; Lung cancer; Lymph nodes; Medical prognosis; Metastases; Metastasis; Overall survival; Patients; Polymerase chain reaction; Prognosis; Radiation therapy; Regression analysis; Risk factors; Squamous cell carcinoma; Surgery; Tumor cells; Tumors; Vitamin B
• ISSN: 1471-2407; 1471-2407
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-11565-z

BackgroundThe aim of the study is to explore the role of preoperative folate receptor-positive circulating tumor cell (FR+CTC) levels in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC).MethodsThree ml blood samples were prospectively drawn from ESCC patients, and ligand-targeted polymerase chain reaction (LT-PCR) was used for the quantification of FR+CTCs. Other serum indicators were measured by traditional methods. Clinicopathological characteristics were obtained from the hospital medical record system, DFS and OS data were obtained by follow-up. The correlation between clinico-pathological characteristics, DFS, and OS and FR+CTCs were analyzed, respectively. Risk factors potentially affecting DFS and OS were explored by Cox regression analysis.Resultsthere were no significant correlations between FR+CTCs and patient age, sex, albumin, pre-albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin and CRP/Albumin ratio, tumor size, grade of differentiation, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, perineural invasion/vessel invasion (all P > 0.05). Nevertheless, preoperative FR+CTCs were an independent prognostic factor for DFS (HR 2.7; 95% CI 1.31-, P = 0.007) and OS (HR 3.37; 95% CI 1.06-, P = 0.04). DFS was significantly shorter for patients with post-operative FR+CTCs ≥ 17.42 FU/3ml compared with patients