Detection of circulating urothelial cancer cells in the blood using the CellSearch System

Expert’s summary: The detection of circulating cancer cells (CCCs) has been reported in the literature, for over a century, in several malignancies including prostate and breast cancer and melanoma. Newer, simpler, and more accurate techniques offer the possibility of detecting a small number of CCCs in peripheral blood. In this study, ah ighly sensitive assay combining immunomagnetic enrichment with multiparameter flow cytometric and immunocytochemical analysis, initially developed for breast cancer, was used in healthy volunteers and patients with urothelial carcinoma. CCCs were detected in 8 of 14 (57.1%) patients with distant metastasis but in none of those without evidence of metastasis. This early study suggests an enormous potential for an innovative marker in patients with urothelial and other urinary malignancies.