Open Access

Clinical prognostic value of circulating tumor cells in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with gemcitabine chemotherapy

  • Authors:
    • Xiaoguang Wang
    • Lingyu Hu
    • Xiaodan Yang
    • Fei Chen
    • Haokai Xu
    • Haitao Yu
    • Zhengwei Song
    • Jianguo Fei
    • Zhengxiang Zhong
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: August 8, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10574
  • Article Number: 1140
  • Copyright: © Wang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly malignant tumor type with a high early metastasis rate and no obvious symptoms. Gemcitabine is a first‑line chemotherapeutic drug for PC. Since there is no distinct method to determine the efficacy of chemotherapy with gemcitabine in patients with PC, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether positivity for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with advanced PC is associated with response to gemcitabine chemotherapy and to explore whether CTCs may be used as a predictor of prognosis of patients with advanced PC undergoing chemotherapy. First, immunomagnetic microspheres (magnetic beads; MIL) were prepared to detect CTCs. The patients' clinical characteristics and survival data, as well as efficacy and adverse effects of chemotherapy, were prospectively obtained and their association with CTCs was analyzed. The results indicated that CTC‑positive patients with advanced PC had a higher probability of developing resistance to gemcitabine chemotherapy than CTC‑negative patients. Survival in the CTC‑negative group was significantly higher than in the CTC‑positive group (χ2=14.58, P<0.001). CTC‑positive patients with advanced PC also had shorter progression‑free survival (PFS) after chemotherapy with gemcitabine (P=0.01). In conclusion, CTC‑positive patients with PC are more likely to develop gemcitabine resistance, have poor PFS and low incidence of thrombocytopenia. CTCs are expected to become a prognostic indicator for chemotherapy response in patients with PC.
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October-2021
Volume 22 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Wang X, Hu L, Yang X, Chen F, Xu H, Yu H, Song Z, Fei J and Zhong Z: Clinical prognostic value of circulating tumor cells in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with gemcitabine chemotherapy. Exp Ther Med 22: 1140, 2021
APA
Wang, X., Hu, L., Yang, X., Chen, F., Xu, H., Yu, H. ... Zhong, Z. (2021). Clinical prognostic value of circulating tumor cells in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with gemcitabine chemotherapy. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 22, 1140. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10574
MLA
Wang, X., Hu, L., Yang, X., Chen, F., Xu, H., Yu, H., Song, Z., Fei, J., Zhong, Z."Clinical prognostic value of circulating tumor cells in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with gemcitabine chemotherapy". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 22.4 (2021): 1140.
Chicago
Wang, X., Hu, L., Yang, X., Chen, F., Xu, H., Yu, H., Song, Z., Fei, J., Zhong, Z."Clinical prognostic value of circulating tumor cells in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with gemcitabine chemotherapy". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 22, no. 4 (2021): 1140. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10574