Study on the relationship between circulating tumor cells and EB virus activation status in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma by using CTCBIOPSY® platform to separate CTC
For the first time, doctors found a relationship between circulating tumor cells and EBV activation status in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Lead: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been confirmed to be associated with more and more malignant tumors. At present, the research and clinical significance of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is not clear. In this paper, researchers used the CTCBIOPSY® platform to separate CTCs and combined downstream biotechnology to explore the relationship between CTC and EBV in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Background introduction: research content: Analysis conclusion: This article is the research result of the cooperation between the research group of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and Zhiyou Medical! Comparison Microscope,The Comparison Microscope,Comparative Microscope,A Comparison Microscope Ningbo ProWay Optics & Electronics Co., Ltd. , https://www.proway-microtech.com
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor in head and neck cancer. CTC is a promising prognostic indicator in most tumors. Currently, there are few studies in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) was first successfully established by Epstein and Barr in 1964, also known as Human Herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), which is the cause of various malignant tumors such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma. First, it mainly infects epithelial cells and B lymphocytes in human oropharynx. Activation of EBV is a common event in the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In this study, the method of membrane separation was used to enrich CTC in peripheral blood of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the relationship between circulating tumor cells and EB virus activation status in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma was investigated.
In this study, 33 patients with undifferentiated non-keratinized NPC were enrolled. 5 mL of venous blood was collected before the initial treatment, and the blood samples were separated and stained using the CTCBIOPSY® platform (Ziyou Medical), followed by cell morphology. The CTC was microscopically counted under a light microscope, and more than three clustered CTCs were called CTM (Circulating tumor microemboli), and then the stained cells on the filter were decolorized and subjected to immunohistochemical staining (IHC). The markers for IHC detection were CK5/6 and P63. The DNA load of EBV and VCA-IgA (viral capsid antigen) and EA-IgA (early antigen) levels are important indicators of EBV activation. The researchers then examined EBERs (EBV-encoded RNAs) in CTCs using in situ hybridization on filters, and EBER in situ hybridization is the accepted standard method for determining the relationship between EBV and disease. Of the 33 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, 22 (66.7%) detected CTC (mean 2.06) (Fig. 1); 2 (6.1%) (T3N3M0) detected CTM in all TMN staging NPC patients All CTCs were detected, and there was no significant correlation between CTC detection and TNM staging. The detection of CTC is related to the activation status of EBV. Among all NPC patients and NPC patients who did not have distant metastasis, CTC-positive patients had higher VCA-IgA levels than EBV-negative patients (all NPC patients were positive vs. negative: 4.86 vs. 3.88, P=0.016; did not occur) The distally transferred NPC patients were positive vs. negative: 4.95 vs. 3.76, P=0.009), and the number of CTCs detected was related to the VCA-IgA level and DNA load of EBV. 
Among the NPC patients with different TNM stages, CTC and CTM had higher detection rates, and CTC detection was associated with EBV activation status. The number of CTC detection was positively correlated with the patient's EBV activation status. Using the CTCBIOPSY® platform, combined with immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and other techniques, more downstream biological studies can be performed on CTC in peripheral blood of patients with cancer.
Original source:
He C, Huang X, Su X, Tang T, Zhang X, Ma J, et al. The association between circulating tumor cells and Epstein-Barr virus activation in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer biology & therapy. 2017:0.