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Detection of CTCs in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Stage IV Colorectal Cancer

ABSTRACT: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. About 90% of CRC related deaths are due to metastatic spread-mostly to the liver and lungs. With adequate multidisciplinary patient selection, CRC liver and lung metastasectomy significantly improves survival and offers the best chance for a cure. However, patients with limited lung or liver metastases are clinically underserved and poorly scientifically studied. The individual indication for resection and the decision making for adjuvant systemic therapies remains a challenge. More sensitive techniques to detect occult disease are needed for metastatic CRC (mCRC) patients, and perioperative analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may provide an outstanding opportunity to develop such innovative methods. We hypothesize that CTCs are enriched during CRC liver and/or lung metastasectomy, and that they can be isolated and characterized in an attempt to identify novel therapeutic targets. CTCs are believed to be causing metastasis and may provide a non-invasive alternative to organ biopsies for the detection, characterization and monitoring of solid cancers. CTC numbers have been shown to be a strong predictor of Progression Free Survival and Overall Survival for mCRC patients. The CellSearch system (Veridex LLC, Ratinas, NJ, USA) currently is the only FDA approved test for the evaluation of CTC numbers in metastatic breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. However, the rarity of CTCs in the blood leads to limited capture efficiency and the CellSearch system fixes cells, preventing further molecular characterization of CTCs by functional assays and primary cell culture. In this protocol the CellSearch system will be compared to a new technology, called the Flexible Micro Spring Array (FMSA) device, developed by Dr. Zheng, Department of Bioengineering, Penn State University, University Park. This novel approach enables size-exclusion based filtration for viable CTC enrichment. The FMSA device is inexpensive, works rapidly, and retains viable CTCs for further biological study. Using both the CellSearch system and the FMSA device, we will determine the kinetics of CTC shedding into circulation, develop an effective system for isolation, enumeration, and further enrichment CTCs, and use this system to find characteristics of different CTC populations.

DISEASE(S): Neoplasm Metastasis,Lung Metastases,Neoplasms, Second Primary,Liver Metastases,Colorectal Cancer,Colorectal Neoplasms,Stage Iv Colorectal Cancer

PROVIDER: 2134810 | ecrin-mdr-crc |

REPOSITORIES: ECRIN MDR

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Project description:Cancer cells metastasize through the bloodstream either as single migratory circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or as multicellular groupings (CTC-clusters). Existing technologies for CTC enrichment are designed primarily to isolate single CTCs, and while CTC-clusters are detectable in some cases, their true prevalence and significance remain to be determined. Here, we developed a microchip technology (Cluster-Chip) specifically designed to capture CTC-clusters independent of tumor-specific markers from unprocessed blood. CTC-clusters are isolated through specialized bifurcating traps under low shear-stress conditions that preserve their integrity and even two-cell clusters are captured efficiently. Highly parallel architecture of the chip allows deterministic screening of clinically relevant volumes of blood samples at slow, and hence, non-damaging flow rates. Using the Cluster-Chip, we identify CTC-clusters in 30-40% of patients with metastatic cancers of the breast, prostate and melanoma. RNA sequencing of CTC-clusters confirms their tumor origin and identifies leukocytes within the clusters as being tissue-derived macrophages. Together, the development of a device for efficient capture of CTC-clusters will enable detailed characterization of their biological properties and role in cancer metastasis. We used the Cluster-Chip to capture CTC-clusters from the blood of a breast cancer patient with high CTC counts, released CTC-clusters in solution, stained them with TexasRed-conjugated antibodies against the leukocyte cell surface markers CD45, CD14 and CD16, and then isolated intact CTC-clusters individually using a micromanipulator. From a single time point, we retrieved 15 CTC-clusters, and each of those clusters was individually subjected to RNA-sequencing analysis using a next generation platform (SOLiD 5500). In addition, two leukocytes were isolated from the blood of a healthy donor were individually subjected to RNA-sequencing analysis using the same platform.

Project description:Metastasis is responsible for the vast majority of breast cancer related deaths. Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is inherently different than primary breast cancer (BC), evolving under selection pressure at different organ sites or during systemic therapy. The current ASCO guidelines call for biopsy of a metastatic site to guide decision making for systemic therapy. Yet, biopsies of macro metastasis are oftentimes not feasible in the clinical setting. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been shown to be prognostic in MBC, but their use as clinical biomarker beyond CTC enumeration has been limited. A better understanding of CTC-biology compared to metastasis may shed light on treatment opportunities and help advance the application of CTCs as liquid biopsies in clinical practice. The ANGLE Parsortix system is a microfluidics device that separates CTCs based on size and deformability, without the need for cell-surface marker selection. Our lab has previously demonstrated the feasibility of gene expression profiling of rare CTCs. Here, we evaluated whether whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA Seq) gene expression profiling of ANGLE Parsortix isolated CTCs may serve as a surrogate for biopsies of macro metastases. CTCs from 21 MBC patients were enumerated and captured from 10mL peripheral blood (PB) via the ANGLE Parsortix system. RNA Seq was performed on fresh metastatic tumor biopsies (mets), CTCs and peripheral blood from all patients. Biopsy sites included: skin (n=1), lung (n=1), pleural effusion (n=5), pericardial effusion (n=1), breast (n=3), lymph node (n=2), brain (n=4), liver (n=1), ascites (n=3), cerebrospinal fluid (n=2) and bone (n=1). 19/21 patients were included in subsequent data analysis. We present the whole transcriptomic landscape of CTCs with comparison to metastases and peripheral blood all acquired prior to treatment of Stage IV breast cancer. Multiple genes, including oncogenes, breast epithelial, mesenchymal genes and cancer stem cell genes were found with higher expression in CTCs versus metastases. When focusing on 66 known potentially clinically actionable genes in breast cancer, represented by 7 molecular signaling pathways, CTCs did not show significantly different patterns of expression versus mets compared to PB. RNA Seq of CTCs may be utilized to identify alterations in MBC patients that are potentially clinically actionable.

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Detection of CTCs in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Stage IV Colorectal Cancer

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