A "live" biopsy in a small-cell lung cancer patient by detection of circulating tumor cells.
A 71-year-old patient with a pulmonary lesion was diagnosed with a low-grade neuroendocrine tumor following examination of a fine needle aspiration biopsy. Analysis of a peripheral blood sample with the CellSearch system revealed the presence of putative circulating tumor cells (CTC) that were positive for EpCAM and cytokeratin (CK) expression. Since EpCAM is not usually expressed in neuroendocrine tumors, we performed a biopsy of liver metastases. Morphological and immunophenotypical characterization revealed that the patient had an EpCAM and CK positive small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). By using the CellSearch apparatus, EpCAM/CK positive CTC were detected in peripheral blood samples from 3 out of 4 additional SCLC patients. This study is the first to demonstrate that CTC can be identified in SCLC patients by using the CellSearch system.
Bevilacqua
Simona
S
Cell Biology and Biotherapy Unit, INT-Fondazione Pascale, Naples 80131, Italy.
Gallo
Marianna
M
Franco
Renato
R
Rossi
Antonio
A
De Luca
Antonella
A
Rocco
Gaetano
G
Botti
Gerardo
G
Gridelli
Cesare
C
Normanno
Nicola
N
D000368:Aged; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology