Enumerating Circulating Tumor Cells with a Self-Assembled Cell Array (SACA) Chip: A Feasibility Study in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Detecting and enumerating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with colorectal cancer emerged as an important prognostic tool which provides a direct estimate of metastatic potential. Improving the turnaround time and decreasing sample volume is critical for incorporating this liquid biopsy tool into routine practice. The objective of the current study was to validate the clinical feasibility of a self-assembled cell array (SACA) chip, a CTC counting platform with less than 4 h turnaround time, in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancers. In total, 179 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancers from a single institute were enrolled. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule positive (EpCAM(+)), cluster of differentiation 45 negative (CD45(−)) cells were isolated and enumerated from 2 mL of peripheral vein blood (PB) and inferior mesenteric vein blood (IMV) samples obtained during surgery. We found that the CTC count in PB but not IMV correlates with disease stages. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy did not lead to decreased CTC count in both types of blood samples. With cutoffs of four CTCs per 2 mL of blood, and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level of 5 ng/mL, patients with non-metastatic disease were more likely to experience recurrence if they had high PB CTC count and high serum CEA concentration (odds ratio, 8.9). Our study demonstrates the feasibility of enumerating CTCs with a SACA chip in patients with colorectal cancer.