Detection of circulating tumor cells after surgery for stage III and IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Abstract

Abbreviations: SCCHN: Squamous cell carcinoma head and neck; CTC: Circulating tumor cells; EGFR: Epidermal growth factor Epithelial adhesion EMT: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; CEA: Carcinoembryonic CK 18,19: Cytokeratin 18,19; Ef3: E74-like 3; PVA: Pemfigus vulgaris antigen, SCCA: Squamous cell carcinoma antigen; EphB4: Tyrosine kinase erythropoietin producing hepatocellular; RT-PCR: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain Microemboli. Abstract In this study, we focused mainly on the metastatic process related to surgery in squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract. We attempted to detect isolated cells (CTCs) of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCHN) in blood stream before, during and after surgery. With this aim, we realized a prospective study analyzing the impact of surgery on the CTC level during a period of 9 days. Two widely used techniques were used in this study : PCR in real time and Cell Search.