Insights into Circulating Tumor Cell Clusters: A Barometer for Treatment Effects and Prognosis for Prostate Cancer Patients

Overview

Journal Cancers (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Oncology

Date 2022 Aug 26

PMID 36010983

Authors

Linyao Lu

Wei Hu

Bingli Liu

Tao Yang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) exhibits high cellular heterogeneity across patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more real-time and accurate detection methods, in both prognosis and treatment in clinical settings. Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters, a population of tumor cells and non-malignant cells in the blood of patients with tumors, are a promising non-invasive tool for screening PCa progression and identifying potential benefit groups. CTC clusters are associated with tumor metastasis and possess stem-like characteristics, which are likely attributable to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Additionally, these biological properties of CTC clusters, particularly androgen receptor V7, have indicated the potential to reflect curative effects, guide treatment modalities, and predict prognosis in PCa patients. Here, we discuss the role of CTC clusters in the mechanisms underlying PCa metastasis and clinical applications, with the aim of informing more appropriate clinical decisions, and ultimately, improving the overall survival of PCa patients.

Citing Articles

Advanced single-cell and spatial analysis with high-multiplex characterization of circulating tumor cells and tumor tissue in prostate cancer: Unveiling resistance mechanisms with the CoDuCo in situ assay.

Bonstingl L, Zinnegger M, Sallinger K, Pankratz K, Muller C, Pritz E Biomark Res. 2024; 12(1):140.

PMID: 39550585 PMC: 11568690. DOI: 10.1186/s40364-024-00680-z.

The Role of Circulating Tumor Cells as a Liquid Biopsy for Cancer: Advances, Biology, Technical Challenges, and Clinical Relevance.

Allen T Cancers (Basel). 2024; 16(7).

PMID: 38611055 PMC: 11010957. DOI: 10.3390/cancers16071377.

Research progress on the multi-omics and survival status of circulating tumor cells.

Xie Q, Liu S, Zhang S, Liao L, Xiao Z, Wang S Clin Exp Med. 2024; 24(1):49.

PMID: 38427120 PMC: 10907490. DOI: 10.1007/s10238-024-01309-z.

CTC, ctDNA, and Exosome in Thyroid Cancers: A Review.

Wang W, Zheng Z, Lei J Int J Mol Sci. 2023; 24(18).

PMID: 37762070 PMC: 10530859. DOI: 10.3390/ijms241813767.

Microfluidic-based prostate cancer model for investigating the secretion of prostate-specific antigen and microRNAs in vitro.

Padmyastuti A, Sarmiento M, Dib M, Ehrhardt J, Schoon J, Somova M Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):11623.

PMID: 37468746 PMC: 10356943. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38834-y.

References

Sun Y, Xu Y, Yang X, Guo W, Zhang X, Qiu S . Circulating stem cell-like epithelial cell adhesion molecule-positive tumor cells indicate poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection. Hepatology. 2012; 57(4):1458-68. DOI: 10.1002/hep.26151. View

Kosaka T, Hongo H, Oya M . Complete response with early introduction of cabazitaxel in a patient with multiple lung metastases of castration-resistant prostate cancer following the early detection of metastases using liquid biopsy: a case report. BMC Cancer. 2019; 19(1):562. PMC: 6558884. DOI: 10.1186/s12885-019-5782-2. View

Esposito A, Criscitiello C, Locatelli M, Milano M, Curigliano G . Liquid biopsies for solid tumors: Understanding tumor heterogeneity and real time monitoring of early resistance to targeted therapies. Pharmacol Ther. 2015; 157:120-4. DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2015.11.007. View

Cheung K, Padmanaban V, Silvestri V, Schipper K, Cohen J, Fairchild A . Polyclonal breast cancer metastases arise from collective dissemination of keratin 14-expressing tumor cell clusters. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016; 113(7):E854-63. PMC: 4763783. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1508541113. View

Aceto N, Bardia A, Miyamoto D, Donaldson M, Wittner B, Spencer J . Circulating tumor cell clusters are oligoclonal precursors of breast cancer metastasis. Cell. 2014; 158(5):1110-1122. PMC: 4149753. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.07.013. View

Jan Y, Yoon J, Chen J, Teng P, Yao N, Cheng S . A Circulating Tumor Cell-RNA Assay for Assessment of Androgen Receptor Signaling Inhibitor Sensitivity in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. Theranostics. 2019; 9(10):2812-2826. PMC: 6568173. DOI: 10.7150/thno.34485. View

Sarioglu A, Aceto N, Kojic N, Donaldson M, Zeinali M, Hamza B . A microfluidic device for label-free, physical capture of circulating tumor cell clusters. Nat Methods. 2015; 12(7):685-91. PMC: 4490017. DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.3404. View

Kolinsky M, Stoecklein N, Lambros M, Gil V, Nava Rodrigues D, Carreira S . Genetic Analysis of Circulating Tumour Cells. Recent Results Cancer Res. 2019; 215:57-76. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-26439-0_3. View

Sepe P, Verzoni E, Miodini P, Claps M, Ratta R, Martinetti A . Could Circulating Tumor Cells and ARV7 Detection Improve Clinical Decisions in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer? The Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT) Experience. Cancers (Basel). 2019; 11(7). PMC: 6678845. DOI: 10.3390/cancers11070980. View

10.

Zhu X, Suo Y, Fu Y, Zhang F, Ding N, Pang K . In vivo flow cytometry reveals a circadian rhythm of circulating tumor cells. Light Sci Appl. 2021; 10(1):110. PMC: 8160330. DOI: 10.1038/s41377-021-00542-5. View

11.

Ortiz-Otero N, Clinch A, Hope J, Wang W, Reinhart-King C, King M . Cancer associated fibroblasts confer shear resistance to circulating tumor cells during prostate cancer metastatic progression. Oncotarget. 2020; 11(12):1037-1050. PMC: 7105166. DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.27510. View

12.

Choi S, Lim B, Kyung Y, Kim Y, Kim B, Jeon B . Circulating Tumor Cell Counts in Patients With Localized Prostate Cancer Including Those Under Active Surveillance. In Vivo. 2019; 33(5):1615-1620. PMC: 6755012. DOI: 10.21873/invivo.11645. View

13.

Osmulski P, Cunsolo A, Chen M, Qian Y, Lin C, Hung C . Contacts with Macrophages Promote an Aggressive Nanomechanical Phenotype of Circulating Tumor Cells in Prostate Cancer. Cancer Res. 2021; 81(15):4110-4123. PMC: 8367292. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3595. View

14.

Zapatero A, Gomez-Caamano A, Cabeza Rodriguez M, Muinelo-Romay L, de Vidales C, Abalo A . Detection and dynamics of circulating tumor cells in patients with high-risk prostate cancer treated with radiotherapy and hormones: a prospective phase II study. Radiat Oncol. 2020; 15(1):137. PMC: 7268302. DOI: 10.1186/s13014-020-01577-5. View

15.

Graf R, Hullings M, Barnett E, Carbone E, Dittamore R, Scher H . Clinical Utility of the Nuclear-localized AR-V7 Biomarker in Circulating Tumor Cells in Improving Physician Treatment Choice in Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer. Eur Urol. 2019; 77(2):170-177. PMC: 7472426. DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2019.08.020. View

16.

Knipper S, Riethdorf S, Werner S, Tilki D, Graefen M, Pantel K . Possible Role of Circulating Tumour Cells for Prediction of Salvage Lymph Node Dissection Outcome in Patients with Early Prostate Cancer Recurrence. Eur Urol Open Sci. 2021; 34:55-58. PMC: 8579141. DOI: 10.1016/j.euros.2021.09.017. View

17.

Yang Z, Bai H, Hu L, Kong D, Li G, Zhao C . Improving the diagnosis of prostate cancer by telomerase-positive circulating tumor cells: A prospective pilot study. EClinicalMedicine. 2022; 43:101161. PMC: 8808177. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101161. View

18.

Gurioli G, Conteduca V, Brighi N, Scarpi E, Basso U, Fornarini G . Circulating tumor cell gene expression and plasma AR gene copy number as biomarkers for castration-resistant prostate cancer patients treated with cabazitaxel. BMC Med. 2022; 20(1):48. PMC: 8805338. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-022-02244-0. View

19.

Bocci F, Jolly M, Onuchic J . A Biophysical Model Uncovers the Size Distribution of Migrating Cell Clusters across Cancer Types. Cancer Res. 2019; 79(21):5527-5535. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-19-1726. View

20.

Cayrefourcq L, Mazard T, Joosse S, Solassol J, Ramos J, Assenat E . Establishment and characterization of a cell line from human circulating colon cancer cells. Cancer Res. 2015; 75(5):892-901. DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-2613. View