ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between circulating tumor cells(CTCs) in the peripheral blood of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC) and the physiopathological characteristics of esophageal neoplasms.MethodsUsing negative selection system,we depleted red blood cells(RBCs) in red blood cell lysis buffer,depleted white blood cells (WBCs) with Miltenyi magnetic beads and enriched the rare cells from ESCC patients'peripheral blood.Immunofluorence staining (IF) was adopted to identify CTCs.ResultsCirculating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was closely related to cell differentiation grade,the invasion of primary cancer,lymph node status,P-TNM stages,and was rarely related to the sex,age or the location of tumor.ConclusionThe results suggest that circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma may express the development of esophageal cancer and may be served as a tumor marker to evaluate the biological behavior of esophageal cancer.