To assess the efficacy of blood-based liquid biopsy in the diagnosis, surveillance, and prognosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).
In this prospective study, peripheral blood samples were collected from patients with primary UTUC before surgery with curative intent and follow-up visits at University of Southern California between May 2021 and September 2022.
The samples were analyzed using the third-generation comprehensive high-definition single-cell assay (HDSCA3.0) to detect rare events, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and oncosomes, based on the immunofluorescence signals of DAPI (D), cytokeratin (CK), CD45/CD31 (CD), and vimentin (V). The findings of pre-surgery liquid biopsies were compared with those of blood samples from normal donors (NDs) and matched follow-up liquid biopsies. The association between liquid biopsy findings and clinical data, including recurrence-free survival (RFS), was also assessed.
Twenty-eight patients with UTUC were included, of whom 21 had follow-up samples. Significant differences in specific rare analytes were detected in the preoperative samples compared to the NDs. In the post- vs. presurgery matched analysis, a significant decrease was detected in total-, CK-, and CK|V oncosomes, as well as in D-, D|V-, and D|V|CD cells. With a median follow-up of 11 months, 8 patients had disease recurrence. Survival analysis demonstrated that patients with >1.95 preoperative CK|V oncosomes (p = 0.020) and those with >4.18 D|CK|V cells (p = 0.050) had worse RFS compared to other patients.
This study demonstrated promising initial evidence for the biomarker role of CTCs and oncosomes in the diagnosis and surveillance of patients with UTUC.
Urologic oncology. 2024 Feb 20 [Epub ahead of print]
Alireza Ghoreifi, Stephanie N Shishido, Salmaan Sayeed, George Courcoubetis, Amy Huang, Anne Schuckman, Monish Aron, Mihir Desai, Siamak Daneshmand, Inderbir S Gill, Peter Kuhn, Hooman Djaladat, Jeremy Mason
Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA., Convergent Science Institute in Cancer, Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA., Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA., Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Convergent Science Institute in Cancer, Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Department of Biological Sciences, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA., Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Electronic address: ., Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Institute of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Convergent Science Institute in Cancer, Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Electronic address: .
PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38383240