Efficacy of folate-coupled quantum dots immunomagnetic beads method for detecting circulating tumor cells in epithelial ovarian cancer and the association of circulating tumor cells with clinicopathological features / 肿瘤研究与临床

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the effectiveness of folate-coupled quantum dots (FA-QD) immunomagnetic beads method for detecting circulating tumor cells (CTC) in epithelial ovarian cancer and the association of CTC with clinicopathological features of tumor patients.Methods:A total of 67 ovarian cancer patients in Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital from August 2019 to January 2020 were selected. Ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells were divided into 5 cell number gradients (0, 100, 150, 200, 300), the detection rates of CTC were compared by using epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) immunomagnetic beads (single standard method) and FA-QD immunomagnetic beads method (double standard method). The number of CTC in peripheral blood of ovarian cancer patients was detected by using FA-QD immunomagnetic beads method, and those with positive CTC under fluorescence microscope were treated as CTC positive patients. The association of CTC with clinicopathological factors and tumor markers of tumor patients was analyzed.Results:The average capture efficiency rate of CTC in SKOV-3 cells detected by FA-QD immunomagnetic beads method (83.4%) was higher than that by EpCAM immunomagnetic beads method (70.3%). Among 67 patients of ovarian cancer, the proportion of CTC positive patients was 30.0% (3/10) in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ, 91.9% (34/37) in stage Ⅲ, 95.0% (19/20) in stage Ⅳ, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). The proportion of CTC positive patients with lymph node metastasis was higher than that of patients without lymph node metastasis [97.1% (33/34) vs. 69.7% (23/33)], and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). The proportion of CTC positive patients with human epididymis protein 4 (HE4)>110 pmol/L was lower than that of patients with HE4 ≤ 110 pmol/L [58.8% (10/17) vs. 92.0% (46/50)], and the difference was statistically significant ( P = 0.005). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportion of CTC positive patients stratified by age, menopause, pathological differentiation, distant metastasis, carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125, CA199, carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) (all P > 0.05). Conclusions:FA-QD immunomagnetic beads method can effectively detect CTC in peripheral blood of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. The level of CTC in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer is related to lymph node metastasis, clinical TNM stage and HE4 level.