Circulating Tumor Cells Counting Act as a Potential Prognostic Factor in Cervical Cancer

BACKGROUND: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) hold huge potential for both clinical applications and basic research into the management of cancer, but the relationship between CTC count and cervical cancer prognosis remains unclear. Therefore, research on this topic is urgently required. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether CTCs were detectable in patients with cervical cancer and whether CTC count was an indicator of prognosis. METHODS: We enrolled 107 patients with pathologically confirmed cervical cancer. CTCs were detected after radiotherapy or concurrent cisplatin-containing chemotherapy in all patients. We evaluated all medical records and imaging data as well as follow-up information to calculate progression-free survival (PFS). PFS was defined as the time until first diagnosis of tumor progression or death. We also analyzed the relationship between CTC count and patient age, disease stage, histological differentiation, tumor size, and pathological type. RESULTS: CTCs were identified in 86 of 107 patients (80%), and the CTC count ranged from 0 to 27 cells in 3.2 mL blood. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 43.1 months. Patients in which CTCs were detected had a significantly shorter PFS than CTC-negative patients (P = 0.018). Multivariate analysis indicated that CTC count was an independent negative prognostic factor for survival. However, no correlation was observed between CTC count and patient age, disease stage, histological differentiation, tumor size, and pathological type. CONCLUSION: CTC count is an independent negative prognostic factor for cervical cancer.