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Detection of CTC Clusters and a Dedifferentiated RNA-Expression Survival Signature in Prostate Cancer.

Molly KozminskyShamileh FouladdelJae-Seung ChungYugang WangDavid C SmithAjjai AlvaEbrahim AziziTodd MorganSunitha Nagrath
Published in: Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) (2018)
Rates of progression and treatment response in advanced prostate cancer are highly variable, necessitating non-invasive methods to assess the molecular characteristics of these tumors in real time. The unique potential of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to serve as a clinically useful liquid biomarker is due to their ability to inform via both enumeration and RNA expression. A microfluidic graphene oxide-based device (GO Chip) is used to isolate CTCs and CTC clusters from the whole blood of 41 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Additionally, the expression of 96 genes of interest is determined by RT-qPCR. Multivariate analyses are conducted to determine the genes most closely associated with overall survival, PSA progression, and radioclinical progression. A preliminary signature, comprising high expression of stemness genes and low expression of epithelial and mesenchymal genes, potentially implicates an undifferentiated CTC phenotype as a marker of poor prognosis in this setting.
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