title: Relationship between circulating tumour cell count and prognosis following chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated whether circulating tumour cells (CTC) are detectable in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and whether CTC count could provide prognostic information or serve as an indicator of patient response to chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 46 patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent NSCLC. CTC were measured at baseline in all patients and in 23 patients, CTC were also measured before every chemotherapy cycle. The relationship between CTC count and tumour size was analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CTC were present in 40 patients (87%); among them, 29 (63%) had a CTC count of ≥3 cells/3.2 mL, 17 (37%) had a CTC count of ≥5 cells/3.2 mL and 7 (15.2%) had a CTC count of ≥8 cells/3.2 mL. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 7.3 months and 16 months, respectively. A CTC count of more than eight prior to chemotherapy was a strong predictor of reduced PFS (P = 0.018) and OS (P = 0.026). A multivariate analysis indicated that baseline CTC count was an independent negative prognostic factor for survival. However, no correlation was observed between CTC count and tumour size after two chemotherapy cycles, its relationship with chemotherapy response still needs to be defined.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Baseline CTC count is an independent negative prognostic factor for NSCLC; The relationship of CTC and survival after chemotherapy still needs to be defined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zixuan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3894-3704
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Minjiang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Cyttel Biosciences INC, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mengzhao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D002452:Cell Count; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: chemotherapy response; circulating tumour cell; non-small cell lung cancer; overall survival; progression-free survival