Source: Hangzhou First People’s Hospital
35-year-old Mr. Zhou (pseudonym) suddenly developed blood in the stool more than a year ago. I didn’t take it seriously, I thought it was hemorrhoids. However, he, who has always been in good physical condition, lost 12 pounds in just one month. At this time, Mr. Zhou felt bad and rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The results are shocking – he was diagnosed with “rectal cancer” at such a young age!
No time to be sad, Mr. Zhou immediately underwent radical surgery for rectal cancer. Postoperative pathology revealed that the tumor had invaded into the extraserosa adipose tissue with the formation of cancer nodules (7 cancer nodules in total, 0.4-1.3 cm in diameter), and a large number of vascular tumor thrombus and nerve bundle invasion were seen, with more than 20 tumor nodules around. Lymph node metastasis, the pathological stage is stage IIIC, and the stage is not optimistic. Even if surgery is performed, treatment is still required later.
In order to better perform postoperative adjuvant therapy, Mr. Zhou came to the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Hangzhou First People’s Hospital. After learning about Mr. Zhou’s condition, the team of Director Zheng Song of the Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology made an appointment for him with a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) joint outpatient clinic for digestive tract tumors led by Dean Xu Xiao of Hangzhou First People’s Hospital. Top experts from multiple disciplines, including intestinal surgery, digestive oncology, gastroenterology, interventional radiology, interventional ultrasound, and pathology, participate together to formulate reasonable and optimized treatment plans for difficult patients. After MDT discussion, the postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy plan was formulated for Mr. Zhou.
During adjuvant chemotherapy, based on the latest clinical research results and detection technology at home and abroad, Director Zheng Song recommended Mr. Zhou for Circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection to monitor anti-tumor efficacy and guide follow-up treatment . Mr. Zhou’s first CTC test results indicated that a total of 14 circulating tumor cells were detected in 6ml of peripheral blood. According to the results of CTC and genetic testing, in order to prevent tumor recurrence, Director Zheng Song decisively adjusted the treatment plan for Mr. Zhou and decided to add targeted therapy.
During the treatment period, Mr. Zhou performed CTC detection every 2 months. The number of circulating tumor cells in the body has been on a downward trend. The latest CTC results indicated that 0 circulating tumor cells were detected in 6ml of peripheral blood, and the tumor cells in Mr. Zhou’s body disappeared. Repeated CT and MRI showed no signs of tumor recurrence. The treatment effect made Mr. Zhou’s family very happy!
Director Zheng Song said: “With the advancement of medical technology, tumor treatment tends to be more precise, and different from previous invasive techniques, the latest liquid biopsy technology, through blood testing, can also help Early detection of tumors and monitoring of tumor recurrence and metastasis can save patients from the pain of tissue biopsy, and allow more precise and individualized treatment for each tumor patient.”
Circulating tumor cells refer to the primary tumor cells. Tumor cells that fall off from foci or metastases and enter the peripheral blood circulation are important reasons for postoperative recurrence or distant metastasis in tumor patients.
What is the significance of detecting circulating tumor cells?
1. Timely detection of early-stage tumors
CTC detection can detect tumor cells with a diameter of 1 Circulating tumor cells in the blood are detected as early as -5mm, and even the most sensitive PET-CT examination in imaging is not easy to detect. The combination of traditional physical examination items and CTC detection can be used for early screening of tumors.
2. Help to formulate individualized treatment plan
No need to obtain diseased tissue by puncture/tissue excision, just obtain 6ml of peripheral blood and capture it through advanced technology Tumor cells, perform gene sequencing, analyze protein expression, select appropriate targeted drugs, and formulate treatment plans, so as to achieve individualized and precise targeted therapy for tumors.
3. Evaluate the therapeutic effect and prognosis
The detection of circulating tumor cells can be applied to prostate cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, etc. For several common tumors, the number of detections can be used to quickly evaluate the curative effect, monitor tumor recurrence, metastasis and drug resistance in real time, and help determine the prognosis of patients. A higher number of circulating tumors tends to represent a poor prognosis. If the number of CTCs after surgery is higher than that before surgery, the higher the number, the higher the risk of recurrence and metastasis.