Exp Mol Med.  2001 Mar;33(1):8-14.

Detection of circulating tumor cells in patients with gastrointestinal tract cancer using RT-PCR and its clinical implications

• Noh YH
• Kim JA
• Lim GR
• Ro YT
• Koo JH
• Lee YS
• Han DS
• Park HK
• Ahn MJ

Abstract

To investigate the relationship between the presence of circulating tumor cells in different stages of gastrointestinal tract cancer and the subsequent relapse or distant metastasis, circulating levels of CEA mRNA was serially examined at an interval of 10.6+/-4.5 or 13.7+/-3.0 months in gastric or colorectal cancer patients, respectively. CEA mRNA was measured by means of RT-PCR amplification as an indicator for micrometastatic malignant cells. Seven of twenty-nine respectable gastric cancer patients (24.1%) [EGC: 2/9 (22.2%), AGC IIIa: 1/5 (20.0%), AGC IIIb: 4/15 (26.6%)] were positive for CEA mRNA on the initial test and 10 of 29 patients (34.4%) [EGC: 2/ 9 (22.2%), AGC IIIa: 1/5 (20.0%), AGC IIIb: 7/15 (46.7%)] were positive on a follow-up test. Only in AGC IIIb, the positive rate for CEA mRNA increased about twice and 6 of 7 positive cases (85.7%) relapsed within 2.6+/-2.4 months after the follow-up test. In colorectal cancer, 4 of 19 patients (21.1%) [B2: 1/6 (16.7%), C2: 3/13 (23.0%)] were positive on the initial test and 10 of 19 patients (52.6%) [B2: 4/6 (66.7%), C2: 6/13 (46.2%)] were positive on a follow-up test showing an increase in positive rates during a follow-up, however, no significant correlation between CEA mRNA positivity and subsequent relapse was demonstrated. These results suggest that an early tumor cell dissemination may occur in gastrointestinal tract cancer without subsequent relapse, however, the serial regular examination of CEA mRNA level may contribute to predicting a subsequent relapse in AGC IIIb in gastric cancer.

Keyword

gastric cancer; colorectal cancer; carcinoembryonic antigen

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Carcinoembryonic Antigen/*genetics/metabolism
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/*pathology
Human
Male
Middle Age
*Neoplasm Circulating Cells
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
Predictive Value of Tests
*Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Sensitivity and Specificity
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Tumor Markers, Biological