Prognostic value of circulating tumor cells with podoplanin expression in patients with locally advanced or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Podoplanin (PDPN) is a prognostic factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, PDPN expression in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and its prognostic value are not clear.


METHODS
The PowerMag system was used to enumerate CTCs from 53 patients with HNSCC prechemotherapy and 61 healthy donors. PDPN expression was determined by immunofluorescence staining. Results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and clinical outcome, such as patient survival by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and univariate and multivariate analyses.


RESULTS
PDPN was expressed in a subset of CTCs. Both EpCAM-positive CTC and PDPN-positive CTC counts were statistically different between the disease and nondisease groups (p < .0001) with no prognostic value. After a median follow-up of 10.5 months (range, 6.6-18.5 months), the PDPN-positive/EpCAM-positive CTC ratio >20% was a significant prognostic factor for death within 6 months (p = .011) and was correlated with poor progression-free survival (p = .016) and overall survival (p = .015).


CONCLUSIONS
PDPN-positive/EpCAM-positive CTC ratio is a prognostic factor and defining the ratio in patients with HNSCC might be valuable to clinical management.
Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taiwan, Republic of China.|Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Jason Chia-Hsun
JC
Hsieh
Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Hung-Chih
HC
Lin
Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Chi-Ya
CY
Huang
Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Hsung-Ling
HL
Hsu
Graduate Institute of Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Tyler Min-Hsien
TM
Wu
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China.|Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Chia-Lin
CL
Lee
Department of Public Health and Biostatistics Consulting Center, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Min-Chi
MC
Chen
Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taiwan, Republic of China.|Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Hung-Ming
HM
Wang
Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.|Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.|Molecular Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Ching-Ping
CP
Tseng
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D015996:Survival Rate; D000098853:Podoplanin
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C117468:PDPN protein, human; D000098853:Podoplanin
and biomarker; circulating tumor cells; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; podoplanin; prognosis