Affiliations: [a] Thoracic Group, INSERM U981, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France | [b] Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada | [c] Department of Medical Oncology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France | [d] Translational Research Laboratory, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France | [e] Pulmonary Department, Percy Hospital, Paris, France
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Jacques Raphael, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Tel.: +1 647 868 4320; Fax: +1 416 480 6002; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: Background:The independent prognostic value of Circulating Tumour Cells (CTC) level has been demonstrated in several solid tumours. There is currently few data on Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) and CTC. We investigated whether the presence of CTC was correlated with prognosis factors and treatment efficacy. Methods/Objectives:MPM patients (pts) were enrolled in a prospective monocentric study. CTC detection was made using the “CellSearch” assay. The correlation between the presence of CTC and worse prognosis factors was assessed using the X2 test. Comparison of Overall Survival (OS) and Progression Free Survival (PFS) according to CTC detection was performed using the log-rank test. Results:Twenty-seven MPM pts with a median follow-up of 4.2 months were included. CTC were detected in 44% of pts with a median level of 1.5. No significant correlation was observed between the presence of CTC and worse prognosis factors. Moreover, CTC detection was not a significant predictor of OS or PFS (p=0.155 and p=0.32 respectively). Conclusions:CTC were detected in a small cohort of MPM patients. We couldn’t demonstrate a significant prognostic value or a difference in OS/PFS between CTC levels. Further analyses, validation studies and detection techniques are needed to establish their real clinical value in MPM.
