Circulating Tumor Cells in Pancreatic Cancer: The Prognostic Impact in Surgical Patients

Pancreatic cancer is associated with a poor prognosis, even in the early stages, mainly due to metastatic progression. New diagnostic techniques that predict unfavorable outcomes are needed in order to improve treatment strategies. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are showing promising results as a predictive biomarker for various tumors. In this editorial we comment on the article by Zhang , who published the first systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the prognostic value of CTCs as biomarkers in early-stage pancreatic cancer patients undergoing surgery. CTCs were detected in peripheral or central venous system blood, before or during surgery. Positive CTCs showed a correlation with decreased overall survival and decreased relapse-free, disease-free and progression-free survival in this meta-analysis. However, the heterogeneity was significant. The authors suggest that this result was related to the separation methods used between studies, but other differences such as the margin status or the neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatments used are also important to consider. CTCs may be a potential prognostic biomarker in pancreatic cancer patients, but it is necessary to compare and standardize the platforms used to isolate CTCs, to compare different biomarkers from liquid biopsy and to determine the impact on prognosis when therapeutic changes are made based on CTCs levels.