Abstract
Introduction and hypothesis: Migration of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the blood stream is certainly an early event occurring during lung carcinogenesis. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), even in early stages, is associated with a higher incidence of lung cancer in smokers and ex-smokers. The purpose of this study was to look for the presence of CTC in a cohort of smokers having a COPD.
Methods: The presence of CTC was searched in 50 COPD patients, using both the CellSearch (CS) and the isolation by size of epithelial tumor (ISET) cells methods. Results were compared to the detection of CTC in a group of 30 patients with stage IIIB or IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in a group of 30 healthy individuals.
Results: 4/50 (8%) COPD patients had CTC (mean=4; range, 2-8 CTC) detected by CS and/or ISET methods. 18/30 (60%) of advanced stages NSCLC patients showed CTC (mean=16; range, 2-86). No CTC were detected in healthy individuals.
Conclusion: The detection of CTC using the CS and/or the ISET methods is a rare biological event in COPD smoker patients. In this regard, the potentiality of the CS and the ISET methods as tools for detecting early blood biomarkers of lung carcinogenesis is challenging.
- © 2011 ERS