Detection of circulating tumor cells in patients with urothelial cancer.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 50% of patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) respond to chemotherapy and several months of therapy is required to assess for radiographic response. Blood-based biomarkers may identify patients in whom a specific therapy provides clinical benefit, and this study sought to characterize circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with metastatic UC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Peripheral blood from patients with metastatic UC was evaluated for CTCs using the CellSearch system. We assessed for associations between CTC counts and the number and sites of metastatic disease.

RESULTS: CTC evaluations were carried out in 33 patients with metastatic UC. Fourteen of 33 patients (44%; 95% confidence interval 27% to 59%) had a positive assay (range 0-87 cells/7.5 ml of blood) with 10 patients (31%) having five or more CTCs. A significantly higher number of CTCs was seen in patients with two or more sites of metastases compared with those with less than one or one site of metastases (3.5 versus 0, P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS: CTCs, detected by antibody capture technology, are present in 44% of patients with metastatic UC. Higher numbers of CTCs are seen in patients with a greater number of metastatic sites. One-third of patients have five or more CTCs providing a potential early marker to monitor response to chemotherapy.