title: Utility of measuring circulating tumor cell counts to assess the efficacy of treatment for carcinomas of unknown primary origin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Carcinomas of unknown primary origin (CUPs) account for 3%-5% of all malignancies. The majority of CUPs have unfavorable prognosis and are chemoresistant. Predictive biomarkers should be established to improve therapeutic outcomes. Metastatic ability of CUPs may be related to the existence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten patients diagnosed with CUP visiting the Akita University Hospital participated in this study. CTCs were calculated by the CellSearch system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The present observational study indicates that CTCs were detected in 50% of CUPs, and in 80% chemotherapeutically-naïve cases. Furthermore, decrease in CTC count between the pre-treatment and post-treatment phases were observed in chemosensitive cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rapid assessment of the efficacy of chemotherapy by CTC count may become a useful predictive biomarker of CUPs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Akita University, Akita, Japan.
authors.forename: Keigo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komine
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Akita University, Akita, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Akita University, Akita, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Akita University, Akita, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathology, Akita University Hospital, Akita, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nanjo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Akita University, Akita, Japan hiroyuki@med.akita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shibata
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Biomarker; carcinomas of unknown primary origin; chemotherapy; circulating tumor cell; prediction