title: Circulating tumor cells in the blood of poorly differentiated nasal squamous cell carcinoma patients: correlation with treatment response.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  The results implied that CTCs were common even in early TNM stages and might become a potential parameter in evaluating therapeutic effects of radio and chemotherapies.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a head and neck malignancy with an extraordinary high incidence in Southern China and a high metastasis rate. Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood is a relatively new prognostic marker for cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study included data from 38 nasopharyngeal patients with poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in TNM stage I (n = 2), TNM stage II (n = 12), TNM stage III (n = 8), and TNM stage IV (n = 16). CTCs in peripheral blood of all patients were counted before and 1 week as well as 1 months after radiotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The data showed that in 52.6% of the patients CTCs could be detected in peripheral blood and the numbers were significantly decreased 1 month after radiotherapy treatment (p < 0.001). There was no correlation between CTC number or positivity and TNM stages or other clinical parameters.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Radiotherapy , Jiangsu Cancer Hospital , Nanjing , PR China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: a Department of Radiotherapy , Jiangsu Cancer Hospital , Nanjing , PR China.
authors.forename: Juying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Radiotherapy , Jiangsu Cancer Hospital , Nanjing , PR China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: a Department of Radiotherapy , Jiangsu Cancer Hospital , Nanjing , PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Radiotherapy , Jiangsu Cancer Hospital , Nanjing , PR China.
authors.forename: Naixin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: a Department of Radiotherapy , Jiangsu Cancer Hospital , Nanjing , PR China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: CTCs; NPC; poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma