BACKGROUND:The Adnatest® system combines immunomagnetic enrichment of epithelial cells with polymerase chain reaction for prostate cancer (PC)-specific transcripts for the detection circulating tumor cells (CTCs).
We evaluated the Adnatest® in patients with castration-resistant PC receiving docetaxel chemotherapy.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:CTCs were assessed in 16 patients with castration-resistant PC before cycles one and three of chemotherapy. Furthermore, markers of stem cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition were assessed. Treatment response was assessed by imaging and prostate-specific antigen measurements.
RESULTS:Before chemotherapy, 11 patients were Adnatest®-positive whereas five patients were Adnatest®-positive before cycle three. A positive Adnatest® correlated with radiological progression (p=0.02). Rates of disease progression in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive and -negative patients were 100% and 7.7% (p=0.03).
CONCLUSION: In this preliminary study, the Adnatest® detected CTCs in a considerable proportion of patients with castration-resistant PC. First data on certain markers (EGFR and aldehyd dehydrogenase 1) encourage future studies investigating transcripts predicting treatment response.
Written by:
Todenhöfer T, Hennenlotter J, Feyerabend S, Aufderklamm S, Mischinger J, Kühs U, Gerber V, Fetisch J, Schilling D, Hauch S, Stenzl A, Schwentner C. Are you the author?
Department of Urology, Eberhard-Karls University, Hoppe-Seyler Strasse 3, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Reference: Anticancer Res. 2012 Aug;32(8):3507-13.
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22843938
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