Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma represents a disease with increasing incidence. Its prognosis is the worst among all malignancies despite the aggressive combined multimodal treatment across all stages. In metastatic disease, median survival is approximatelly one year. The mainstay of treatment is chemotherapy (neo/adjuvant, palliative) and in selected subgroups of patients even radiotherapy. Nevertheless, nowadays there are very few prognostic and/or predictive biomarkers available that can be used to identify and better stratify patients based on risk to tailored treatment. Potentially, promising areas of research are circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA, which can be easily obtained from peripheral blood - so called liquid biopsy. They may serve as a tool to assess response to applied treatment, and to detect the emergence of treatment-resistant clones or early disease relapse. Moreover, their study may allow identification of potentially tumor-specific alterations, which may serve as target structures for targeted (tailored) therapy. Alternatively, different prognostic indexes/scores calculated by analysis of selected parameters of blood and/or biochemistry can be used to better stratify patients based on risk and better predict prognosis. The aim of this mini-review is to provide a basic overview of the current state of the art in this area and its potential significance for clinical practice.

• Klíčová slova
• Pancreatic carcinoma, biomarkers, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumor cells (CTC), liquid biopsy, prognostic index/score, review,
• MeSH
• cirkulující nádorová DNA * genetika   MeSH
• duktální karcinom pankreatu * diagnóza   genetika   terapie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lokální recidiva nádoru MeSH
• nádorové biomarkery genetika   MeSH
• nádorové cirkulující buňky * MeSH
• nádory slinivky břišní * diagnóza   genetika   terapie   MeSH
• prognóza MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• cirkulující nádorová DNA * MeSH
• nádorové biomarkery MeSH

INTRODUCTION: This study analyzes peripheral blood samples from breast cancer (BC) patients. CTCs from peripheral blood were enriched by size-based separation and were then cultivated in vitro. The primary aim of this study was to demonstrate the antigen independent CTC separation method with high CTC recovery. Subsequently, CTCs enriched several times during the treatment were characterized molecularly. METHODS: Patients with different stages of BC (N = 167) were included into the study. All patients were candidates for surgery, surgical diagnostics, or were undergoing chemotherapy. In parallel, 20 patients were monitored regularly and in addition to CTC presence, also CTC character was examined by qPCR, with special focus on HER2 and ESR status. RESULTS: CTC positivity in the cohort was 76%. There was no significant difference between the tested groups, but the highest CTC occurrence was identified in the group undergoing surgery and similarly in the group before the start of neoadjuvant treatment. On the other hand, the lowest CTC frequencies were observed in the menopausal patient group (56%), ESR+ patient group (60%), and DCIS group (44.4%). It is worth noting that after completion of neoadjuvant therapy (NACT) CTCs were present in 77.7% of cases. On the other hand, patients under hormonal treatment were CTC positive only in 52% of cases. DISCUSSIONS: Interestingly, HER2 and ESR status of CTCs differs from the status of primary tumor. In 50% of patients HER2 status on CTCs changed not only from HER2+ to HER2-, but also from HER2- to HER2+ (33%). ESR status in CTCs changed only in one direction from ESR+ to ESR-. CONCLUSIONS: Data obtained from the present study suggest that BC is a heterogeneous disease but CTCs may be detected independently of the disease characteristics in 76% of patients at any time point during the course of the disease. This relatively high CTC occurrence in BC should be considered when planning the long-term patient monitoring.

• Klíčová slova
• Breast cancer, CTCs, Circulating tumor cells, Cultivation, Gene expression, In vitro, MetaCell,
• MeSH
• alfa receptor estrogenů genetika   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• genetická heterogenita * MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nádorové biomarkery genetika   MeSH
• nádorové cirkulující buňky patologie   MeSH
• nádory prsu krev   genetika   patologie   MeSH
• receptor erbB-2 genetika   MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u nádorů MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• staging nádorů MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• alfa receptor estrogenů MeSH
• ERBB2 protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• ESR1 protein, human MeSH Prohlížeč
• nádorové biomarkery MeSH
• receptor erbB-2 MeSH

BACKGROUND: In general, the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood (PB) is associated with a relative shorter overall survival in cancer patients. The clinical utility of CTC diagnostics is changing: from prognostic test to an assay predicting therapy response, enabling the right choice of therapy and monitoring the effect of administered therapy. We present two case reports of patients with suspicion of lung and pancreatic cancer, without obtainable preoperative biopsy for histological verification. The focus of the presented study was not to deliver a complete tumor tissue classification to the surgeon, but to answer the question if there is malignant disease or not. The results are based on CTC presence and characterization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A size-based separation method for viable CTC enrichment from anticoagulated PB was used. The separated cells were cytomorphologically examined using vital fluorescent microscopy. Additionally, to confirm the epithelial origin of the cells on the separation membrane, CTC gene expression analysis was performed. RESULTS: CTCs were successfully enriched and cultured in vitro in both tested samples. The epithelial character of the captured cells was confirmed by quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis for a set of tumor-associated genes. CONCLUSION: Detection of cancer cells in PB (liquid biopsy) and their molecular characterization could significantly help complete the tumor diagnostic process in a time-efficient manner.

• Klíčová slova
• CTC, MetaCell, liquid biopsy, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, surgery,
• MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nádorové cirkulující buňky metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• nádory plic krev   genetika   patologie   MeSH
• nádory slinivky břišní krev   genetika   patologie   MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u nádorů genetika   MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• kazuistiky MeSH

Delayed diagnosis of ovarian cancer (OC) is usually a cause of its high mortality. OC counts for one of the most aggressive gynecological malignancies. Noninvasive biomarkers may be used to help with diagnostic and treatment decisions in OC management. The incidence and clinical significance of occult OC cells (circulating tumor cells-CTCs) in the peripheral blood of patients with newly diagnosed or nondiagnosed OC at the time of surgical intervention were examined in our study. The objective of the study was to isolate and cultivate CTCs in OC patients (mainly stage IIIB-C) by a recently introduced size-based separation method (MetaCell(®)). CTCs were successfully isolated in patients with OC capturing cells with proliferation potential. The cells were enriched in good fitness, which enabled the short term in vitro culture of the CTCs. The CTCs may be used for further downstream applications (e.g. gene expression analysis) even if in the majority of the in vitro CTC cultures no confluence was reached. The CTCs were detected in 77 out of 118 patients (65.2%). CTC positivity was given to the relationship with different disease stage parameters with special focus on CA125 marker levels. The results show that the information on CTC presence may provide new and independent prognosis staging information to the patient description. Several interesting relationships of CA125, age and ascites presence are reported. As shown in our patient sample, patients with ascites tend to have higher CA125 levels, even if the CTCs were not found in the peripheral blood. It suggests that hematogenous dissemination is fully represented by the CTCs while lymphogenic dissemination is represented by elevated CA125. In this context, easy access to CTCs provided by the method applied in our study, both at the time of diagnosis and relapse, may become an increasingly valuable tool in future. This methodology may provide an opportunity for more personalized medicine where treatment for OC may be guided by information from an individual's CTC molecular profile.

• Klíčová slova
• CA125, CTCs, circulating tumor cells, cultivation, gene expression, in vitro, ovarian cancer,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

The focus of the study was to implement a new workflow for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) characterization that would allow the analysis of CTCs on a cytomorphological and molecular level in patients with diagnosed gynecological cancer. Our findings may be useful in future cancer patient management. The study introduces a size-based enrichment (MetaCell(®)) method for the separation of viable CTCs, followed by CTCs culturing in vitro and gene expression characterization. It is based on the observation of CTCs and DTCs (Disseminated Tumor Cells) in several case studies of ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer by means of cytomorphology and gene expression profiling. The viability of the enriched CTCs was estimated using vital and lethal fluorescence nuclear staining. This type of staining may be predictive for the success rate of subsequent CTC growth in vitro. To identify CTCs in the enriched CTC fraction, cytomorphological evaluations based on vital fluorescence staining were followed by gene expression analysis of tumor-associated (TA) genes. Cytokeratin expression (KRT7, KRT19) was analyzed in combination with MUC1, MUC16, CD24, CD44 and ALDH1. Gene expression analysis has shown that short-term in vitro culture enhanced the differentiation process of the captured CTCs growing on a membrane. On the other hand, redundant white blood cells captured on the membrane were eliminated during a short-term culture. The most frequently elevated genes in ovarian cancer (serous type) are EPCAM, KRT19 and MUC1. It has been demonstrated that CTC presence revealed by cytomorphological evaluation may be usefully complemented by TA-gene expression analysis, to increase the sensitivity of the analysis.

• Klíčová slova
• CTCs, cervical cancer, cultivation, endometrial cancer, gynecological cancers, in vitro, ovarian cancer,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

AIM: To investigate the feasibility of separation and cultivation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in pancreatic cancer (PaC) using a filtration device. METHODS: In total, 24 PaC patients who were candidates for surgical treatment were enrolled into the study. Peripheral blood samples were collected before an indicated surgery. For each patient, approximately 8 mL of venous blood was drawn from the antecubital veins. A new size-based separation MetaCell technology was used for enrichment and cultivation of CTCs in vitro. (Separated CTCs were cultured on a membrane in FBS enriched RPMI media and observed by inverted microscope. The cultured cells were analyzed by means of histochemistry and immunohistochemistry using the specific antibodies to identify the cell origin. RESULTS: CTCs were detected in 16 patients (66.7%) of the 24 evaluable patients. The CTC positivity did not reflect the disease stage, tumor size, or lymph node involvement. The same percentage of CTC positivity was observed in the metastatic and non-metastatic patients (66.7% vs 66.7%). We report a successful isolation of CTCs in PaC patients capturing proliferating cells. The cells were captured by a capillary action driven size-based filtration approach that enabled cells cultures from the viable CTCs to be unaffected by any antibodies or lysing solutions. The captured cancer cells displayed plasticity which enabled some cells to invade the separating membrane. Further, the cancer cells in the "bottom fraction", may represent a more invasive CTC-fraction. The CTCs were cultured in vitro for further downstream applications. CONCLUSION: The presented size-based filtration method enables culture of CTCs in vitro for possible downstream applications.

• Klíčová slova
• Biomarker, Circulating tumor cells, Cultivation, Pancreatic cancer,
• MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• filtrace přístrojové vybavení   MeSH
• invazivní růst nádoru MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• membrány umělé * MeSH
• nádorové biomarkery metabolismus   MeSH
• nádorové buňky kultivované MeSH
• nádorové cirkulující buňky metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• nádory slinivky břišní krev   metabolismus   patologie   MeSH
• pohyb buněk MeSH
• polykarboxylátový cement MeSH
• poréznost MeSH
• proliferace buněk MeSH
• separace buněk přístrojové vybavení   MeSH
• studie proveditelnosti MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• hodnotící studie MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• membrány umělé * MeSH
• nádorové biomarkery MeSH
• polycarbonate MeSH Prohlížeč
• polykarboxylátový cement MeSH

OBJECTIVE: Approximately one third of patients diagnosed with muscle-invasive urinary bladder cancer (UBC) have undetected metastases at the time of treatment of the primary tumor. Currently there are no reliable specific serum markers for monitoring and evaluating risk profiles of urothelial cancers. Several studies suggest that detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may correlate with the disease status and prognosis at baseline and early in the treatment of cancers. In this study a new way of isolation and in vitro cultivation of CTCs of urinary bladder cancer was introduced. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Peripheral blood (PB) samples from 53 patients who had undergone urological procedure were evaluated using the MetaCell device (MetaCell s.r.o., Ostrava, Czech Republic). The patients enrolled in the study were both oncological patients with UBC and non-oncological patients with inflammation (14 patients). The sensitivity and quantification of CTCs were evaluated. The separated CTCs were cultured in vitro. RESULTS: 39 patients with confirmed UBC were enrolled in the study. CTCs were detected in 25 (64%) patients, and most of these patients had between 6 and 10 cells. The separated CTCs were successfully cultured in vitro. CONCLUSION: CTCs were detected in a higher percentage of patients than in other studies. This paper describes the first successful culturing of human UBC cells. The MetaCell approach used in this study enabled the capture of viable intact virgin CTCs (virgin CTC) suitable for next in vitro culturing, single cell analysis or drug testing.

• Klíčová slova
• CTC, MetaCell, Urinary bladder cancer, circulating tumor cells, urothelial tumors,
• MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nádorové buňky kultivované MeSH
• nádorové cirkulující buňky patologie   MeSH
• nádory močového měchýře krev   patologie   MeSH
• papilární karcinom krev   patologie   MeSH
• proliferace buněk MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• separace buněk metody   MeSH
• staging nádorů MeSH
• studie případů a kontrol MeSH
• stupeň nádoru MeSH
• viabilita buněk MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH