Objective To explore the efficacy of a novel detection technique of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to identify benign and malignant lung nodules. Methods Nanomagnetic CTC detection based on polypeptide with epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)-specific recognition was performed on enrolled patients with pulmonary nodules. There were 73 patients including 48 patients with malignant lesions as a malignant group and 25 patients with benign lesion as a benign group. There were 13 males and 35 females at age of 57.0±11.9 years in the malignant group and 11 males and 14 females at age of 53.1±13.2 years in the benign group. e calculated the differential diagnostic efficacy of CTC count, and conducted subgroup analysis according to the consolidation-tumor ratio, while compared with PET/CT on the efficacy. Results CTC count of the malignant group was significantly higher than that of the benign group (0.50/ml vs. 0.00/ml, P<0.05). Subgroup analysis according to consolidation tumor ratio (CTR) revealed that the difference was statistically significant in pure ground glass (pGGO) nodules 1.00/mlvs. 0.00/ml, P<0.05), but not in part-solid or pure solid nodules. For pGGO nodules, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of CTC count was 0.833, which was significantly higher than that of maximum of standardized uptake value (SUVmax) (P<0.001). Its sensitivity and specificity was 80.0% and 83.3%, respectively. Conclusion The peptide-based nanomagnetic CTC detection system can differentiate malignant tumor and benign lesions in pulmonary nodules presented as pGGO. It is of great clinical potential as a noninvasive, nonradiating method to identify malignancies in pulmonary nodules.
Objective To systematically evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in hepatitis B viral hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC), and to study the clinical value of ctDNA. Methods The databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library database were retrieved systematically from the establishment of the database to April 26, 2021. The characteristic information of literatures and the original data such as the sensitivity, specificity, and area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were extracted. A meta-analysis was conducted by applying RevMan 5.3 and Stata 15.0 software. The combined sensitivity, combined specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio (OR) were calculated, ROC curve was plotted and the AUC was calculated, Deck’s funnel chart to assess publication bias, the Fagan diagram to test the diagnostic efficiency. Results Finally, 16 studies involving 3 744 patients were enrolled in this study, of which 1 852 were HBV-HCC patients, and 1 892 were HBV-infected patients without HCC. The meta-analysis results showed that ctDNA had a pooled sensitivity of 0.85 [95%CI (0.78, 0.90)], a specificity of 0.74 [95%CI (0.63, 0.83)], a diagnostic OR of 15.98 [95%CI (10.65, 23.99)], and the AUC of ROC was 0.87 [95%CI (0.84, 0.90)] in the diagnosis of HBV-HCC. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic OR, and the AUC of ROC for ctDNA combined with AFP in the diagnosis of HBV-HCC were 0.86 [95%CI (0.80, 0.90)], 0.79 [95%CI (0.68, 0.87)], 22.69 [95%CI (13.64, 37.76)], and 0.90 [95%CI (0.87, 0.92)]. Meta-regression analysis found that the heterogeneity came from other non-covariate factors. The Fagan chart showed that while HBV-HCC was diagnosed by liquid biopsy-based on ctDNA, the probability of being diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma was 77%, if HBV-HCC was excluded, the probability of having the corresponding disease was 17%. Deek’s test showed no obvious publication bias (P>0.05). ConclusionsThe ctDNA can diagnose HBV-HCC with high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, and can be used as a promising circulating biomarker in the early diagnosis of HBV-related HCC. The combination of ctDNA in serum and AFP is beneficial to improve the diagnostic accuracy of HBV-HCC.
The important detection indicators of liquid biopsy in cancer patients include circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA. The former refers to the cells that fall off from the primary tumor and metastatic sites and enter the blood circulation through blood vessels or lymphatic vessels, while the latter refers to the cell-free DNA released into the blood vessels by apoptotic or necrotic tumor cells. For breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy, dynamic monitoring of circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA can help early identify the responsiveness of tumor patients to different treatments and guide subsequent treatments to improve prognosis. This article reviews the research progress and clinical significance of detecting circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy, aiming to provide a reference for the more rational application of circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA in neoadjuvant therapy of breast cancer.