Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/s00280-021-04251-z.

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Esophageal cancer is among the most aggressive diseases, and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been recognized as novel biomarkers for various cancers over the past two decades, including esophageal cancer. CTCs might provide crucial clinical information for predicting cancer prognosis, monitoring therapeutic responses or recurrences, or elucidating the mechanism of metastasis. The isolation of CTCs is among the applications of a "liquid biopsy". There are various technologies for liquid biopsies, and they are classified into two main methods: cytometric or non-cytometric techniques. Here, we review a total of 57 eligible articles to summarize various technologies for the use of a liquid biopsy in esophageal cancer and perform a meta-analysis to assess the clinical utility of liquid biopsies as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker technique. For prognostic evaluation, the pooled hazard ratio in the cytometric assay is relatively higher than that of the non-cytometric assay. On the other hand, a combination of multiple molecules, using a non-cytometric assay, might be a favorable biomarker technique for the early diagnosis of esophageal cancer. Although determining strong evidence for a biomarker by using a liquid biopsy is still challenging, our meta-analysis might be a milestone for the future development of liquid biopsies in use with esophageal cancer.

DOI： 10.3390/cancers12103070

PubMed

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Background
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is an aggressive gastrointestinal tract cancer. To date, the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC) has been reported as a prognostic factor in peripheral blood from patients with gastrointestinal cancers.

Methods
The CellSearch system was used to isolate and enumerate CTCs. A total of 90 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who received chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy were enrolled. Peripheral blood specimens were collected before and after treatments.

Results
At baseline analysis, CTCs were detected in 25 patients (27.8 %). Overall survival was significantly shorter in patients with than without CTCs. Follow-up blood specimens were obtained from 71 patients. Partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease after treatment were seen in 32, 12, and 27 patients, respectively. CTC positivity after treatment in the progressive disease group (40.7 %) was significantly higher than that of the partial response group (6.3 %). Patients with a change in CTC status from positive to negative had a good prognosis as well as patients without baseline CTCs.

Conclusions
Evaluation of CTCs may be a promising indicator for predicting tumor prognosis and the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy or chemoradiation therapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

DOI： 10.1245/s10434-015-4392-8

PubMed