Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells in Prostate Cancer Patients: Methodological Pitfalls and Clinical Relevance

Abstract

Disseminated malignancy is the major cause of prostate cancer-related mortality. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are essential for the establishment of metastasis. Various contemporary and molecular methods using prostate-specific biomarkers have been applied to detect extraprostatic disease that is undetectable by conventional imaging techniques, assessing the risk for disease recurrence after therapy of curative intent. However, the clinical relevance of CTC detection is still controversial. We review current literature regarding molecular methods used for the detection of CTCs in the peripheral blood and bone marrow biopsies of patients with prostate cancer, and we discuss the methodological pitfalls that influence the clinical significance of molecular staging.

Head-to-head comparison of the Montreal nomogram with the detection of primary malignant circulating prostate cells to predict prostate cancer at initial biopsy in Chilean men with suspicion of prostate cancer

“…This underlies the problem with the different methods used to detect circulating tumor cells, and this has been extensively reviewed [27].…”

How prostate-specific membrane antigen level may be correlated with stemness in prostate cancer stem cell-like cell populations?

“…[18,19] PSMA is a type II membrane glycoprotein with folate hydrolase activity produced by prostatic epithelium. The expression of this molecule has also been documented in extra-prostatic tissues, including small bowel and brain.…”

Cancer protection of soy resembles cancer protection during pregnancy

“…Highly sensitive and specific immunocytochemical and molecular assays now enable the detection and characterization of CTCs at the single cell level in bone marrow or peripheral blood, providing insights into the first crucial steps of the metastatic cascade (6,121). CTCs, tumor cells leaving the local tumor compartment into bone marrow or peripheral blood, are of utmost clinical importance for the establishment of distant metastasis during the metastatic cascade (121)(122)(123)(124)(125)(126)(127)(128)(129)(130)(131). The advantage of CTC diagnosis over cancer cells from a local tumor compartment is first, an easy detection, second, reduces the risk of local efflux of cytokines into the periphery by the needle, and third, they consist of cell forms from which metastasis can develop.…”