A New Model Based on Folate Receptor-Positive Circulating Tumor Cells for the Preoperative Prediction of Peritoneal Metastasis in Gastrointestinal Malignancies: A Retrospective Study in China.

Abstract

Background/aims: To construct a new model based on folate receptor-positive circulating tumor cells (FR⁺-CTC) for the preoperative prediction of peritoneal metastasis in gastrointestinal malignancies and to apply this model in clinical practice.

Methods: Patients with gastrointestinal malignancies who had undergone preoperative FR⁺-CTC counts were retrospectively collected. Risk factors for peritoneal metastasis in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies were identified using a logistic regression model. The "pROC" package in R software was employed to plot the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting peritoneal metastasis in these patients based on identified risk factors. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between FR⁺-CTC counts and risk factors.

Results: A total of 396 patients meeting the inclusion criteria were finally included in the study. The number of FR⁺-CTC, albumin level, total protein level, and cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) level were identified as risk factors affecting peritoneal metastasis in gastrointestinal malignancies. The number of FR⁺-CTC was significantly negatively correlated with albumin (R=-0.21, p<0.001), and total protein levels (R=-0.10, p=0.047), and a positively correlated with CA-125 level (R=0.15, p=0.004). The number of FR⁺-CTCs was significantly higher in patients with peritoneal metastasis, lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion, neural invasion, and in those with stage T3-4 and III-IV gastrointestinal malignancies (p<0.05 for all). The model demonstrated stable predictive capacity, as validated through 10-fold cross-validation.

Conclusions: FR⁺-CTCs can serve as a novel biomarker for gastrointestinal malignancies. A new model based on FR⁺-CTCs demonstrated strong predictive capabilities for the preoperative assessment of peritoneal metastasis in gastrointestinal cancers.