Amado, VíctorGonzález-Rubio, SandraZamora, JavierAlejandre, RafaelEspejo-Cruz, María LolaLinares, ClaraSánchez-Frías, MarinaGarcía-Jurado, GemaMontero, José LuisCiria, RubénRodríguez-Perálvarez, ManuelFerrín, GustavoDe la Mata, Manuel2022-11-292022-11-292021-05-19Amado V, González-Rubio S, Zamora J, Alejandre R, Espejo-Cruz ML, Linares C, et al. Clearance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Surgical Resection or Liver Transplantation. Cancers. 2021 May 19;13(10):2476http://hdl.handle.net/10668/4423Background: In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a complete clearance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) early after liver transplantation (LT) or surgical resection (LR) could prevent tumor recurrence. Methods: prospective pilot study including patients with HCC who underwent LR or LT from September 2017 to May 2020. Enumeration of CTCs was performed in peripheral blood samples (7 mL) using the Isoflux® system (Fluxion Biosciences) immediately before surgery, at post-operative day 5 and at day 30. A clinically relevant number of CTCs was defined as >30 CTCs/sample. Results: 41 HCC patients were included (mean age 58.7 ± 6.3; 82.9% male). LR was performed in 10 patients (24.4%) and 31 patients (75.6%) underwent LT. The main etiology of liver disease was chronic hepatitis C (31.7%). Patients undergoing LR and LT were similar in terms of preoperative CTC count (p = 0.99), but clearance of CTCs within the first month was more pronounced in the LT group. Clusters of CTCs at baseline were associated with incomplete clearance of CTCs at day 30 (54.2% vs. 11.8%, p = 0.005), which in turn impacted negatively on survival (p = 0.038). Conclusion: Incomplete clearance of CTCs after surgery could be a surrogate marker of HCC aggressiveness.enAtribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Hepatocellular carcinomaLiver transplantationLiver cancerLiquid biopsyCirculating tumor cellTumor recurrenceCarcinoma hepatocelularTrasplante de hígadoNeoplasias hepáticasBiopsia líquidaCélulas neoplásicas circulantesRecurrencia local de neoplasiaMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Check Tags::MaleMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Digestive System Diseases::Liver Diseases::Liver Neoplasms::Carcinoma, HepatocellularMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Digestive System Diseases::Liver Diseases::Liver NeoplasmsMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Surgical Procedures, Operative::Digestive System Surgical Procedures::Liver TransplantationMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Epidemiologic Study Characteristics as Topic::Pilot ProjectsMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms::Pathologic Processes::Neoplastic Processes::Neoplasm Recurrence, LocalMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Neoplasms::Neoplastic Processes::Neoplasm Metastasis::Neoplastic Cells, CirculatingMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Epidemiologic Study Characteristics as Topic::Epidemiologic Studies::Cohort Studies::Longitudinal Studies::Prospective StudiesMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Virus Diseases::Hepatitis, Viral, Human::Hepatitis C::Hepatitis C, ChronicMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Biological Factors::Biological Markers::Biomarkers, PharmacologicalMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Digestive System Diseases::Liver Diseases::Liver CirrhosisMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Diagnosis::PrognosisMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services::Health Services::Tissue and Organ Procurementresearch article34069569open access10.3390/cancers131024762072-6694PMC8160727