title: Comparison of Two Types of Liquid Biopsies in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Awaiting Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is considered one of the few curative treatments available for early stages of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It has been shown that more than 10% of transplanted individuals suffer relapse during the first year after surgery and most of them die because of the tumor. The circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are the main source of recurrences as they disseminate from a primary or metastatic tumor lesion through peripheral blood. We aimed to determine the concentration of CTCs in peripheral blood in these patients by 2 different approaches: the CellSearch and the IsoFlux systems to assess their applicability to this disease monitoring.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comparative study was conducted in 21 patients with HCC eligible for liver transplantation according to the Milan criteria, whose peripheral blood was processed by the CellSearch and the IsoFlux systems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CTCs were isolated in 1 of the 21 patients (4.7%) by the CellSearch system and in 19 of the 21 patients (90.5%) by the IsoFlux method. The comparison of both methods using Bland-Altman plot shows that there is not consistency in the determination of CTCs in our patients, finding a proportional bias between them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained by both CTCs isolation systems are not interchangeable nor transferable. The CellSearch system does not seem to be the ideal approach for studying CTCs in patients with HCC. The IsoFlux system displays greater sensitivity in the identification of CTCs and might become an important tool in patient management.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Analysis Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Lorencio
authors.affiliation: Liver Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.affiliation: Navarre Unified Laboratory Department, Navarre Hospital Complex, Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address: txito3@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Saenz
authors.affiliation: Immunology Service, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Martínez Sánchez
authors.affiliation: CTC Unit, Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De La Orden
authors.affiliation: CTC Unit, Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mediero-Valeros
authors.affiliation: CTC Unit, Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Veganzones-De-Castro
authors.affiliation: Experimental Surgery Unit, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baroja-Mazo
authors.affiliation: Experimental Surgery Unit, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Revilla Nuin
authors.affiliation: Liver Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Liver Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Cascales-Campos
authors.affiliation: Clinical Analysis Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Noguera-Velasco
authors.affiliation: Immunology Service, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minguela
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Díaz-Rubio
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatology, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pons
authors.affiliation: Liver Transplant Unit, Department of Surgery, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca-IMIB, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parrilla
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D002452:Cell Count; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014850:Waiting Lists
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor