In vitro culturing of viable circulating tumor cells of urinary bladder cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Approximately one third of patients diagnosed with muscle-invasive urinary bladder cancer (UBC) have undetected metastases at the time of treatment of the primary tumor. Currently there are no reliable specific serum markers for monitoring and evaluating risk profiles of urothelial cancers. Several studies suggest that detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may correlate with the disease status and prognosis at baseline and early in the treatment of cancers. In this study a new way of isolation and in vitro cultivation of CTCs of urinary bladder cancer was introduced.


METHODS
Peripheral blood (PB) samples from 53 patients who had undergone urological procedure were evaluated using the MetaCell device (MetaCell s.r.o., Ostrava, Czech Republic). The patients enrolled in the study were both oncological patients with UBC and non-oncological patients with inflammation (14 patients). The sensitivity and quantification of CTCs were evaluated. The separated CTCs were cultured in vitro.


RESULTS
39 patients with confirmed UBC were enrolled in the study. CTCs were detected in 25 (64%) patients, and most of these patients had between 6 and 10 cells. The separated CTCs were successfully cultured in vitro.


CONCLUSIONS
CTCs were detected in a higher percentage of patients than in other studies. This paper describes the first successful culturing of human UBC cells. The MetaCell approach used in this study enabled the capture of viable intact virgin CTCs (virgin CTC) suitable for next in vitro culturing, single cell analysis or drug testing.
Department of Pathology, Masaryk's Hospital in Usti Nad Labem Krajska Zdravotni a.s., Socialni Pece 3316, 12A40113 Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic.
Martin
M
Cegan
Department of Laboratory Genetics University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady Srobarova 50, 100 97 Prague, Czech Republic.
Katarina
K
Kolostova
Department of Oncology and Division of Oncological Surgery, Wroclaw Medical University ul. Pasteura 1, 50-367 Wrocław, Poland ; Lower Silesian Oncology Centre Plac Hirszfelda 12, 53-413 Wrocław, Poland.
Rafal
R
Matkowski
Department of Urology and Center of Robotic Surgery, Masaryk's Hospital in Usti Nad Labem Krajska Zdravotni a.s., Socialni Pece 3316, 12A40113 Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic.
Marek
M
Broul
Department of Urology and Center of Robotic Surgery, Masaryk's Hospital in Usti Nad Labem Krajska Zdravotni a.s., Socialni Pece 3316, 12A40113 Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic.
Jan
J
Schraml
Department of Urology, Regional Specialistic Hospital ul. Kamienskiego 73a, 51-318 Wroclaw, Poland.
Marek
M
Fiutowski
Department of Laboratory Genetics University Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady Srobarova 50, 100 97 Prague, Czech Republic ; Department of Histology and Embryology, Wroclaw Medical University Chalubinskiego 6a, 50-368 Wroclaw, Poland ; Third Department of Surgery, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and University Hospital Motol 105 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
Vladimir
V
Bobek
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*
CTC; MetaCell; Urinary bladder cancer; circulating tumor cells; urothelial tumors