Abstract 917: Circulating tumor cells accurately detect and characterize lung cancers in high-risk subjects undergoing low-dose CT screening

Purpose: Lung cancer screening of high-risk subjects with low-dose CT (LDCT) significantly reduces mortality. Integrating liquid biomarkers circulating tumor cells (CTCs) screening could significantly improve the accuracy of findings on LDCT. Experimental Design: In a prospective, observational clinical trial (NCT02838836; NCT03551951), high-risk screening subjects (≥30 pack-years smoking history, age 55-80) undergoing screening LDCT were enrolled. Peripheral blood (7.5ml) was collected, CTCs were enriched by microfilter isolation and immunofluorescence staining was performed for cytokeratin, EpCAM, CD14/45, PD-L1, vimentin, N-cadherin. Lung cancer tissues were similarly analyzed. Results: In total, 136 subjects were enrolled prospectively. CTCs/7.5ml of blood were significantly higher in 14 subjects with proven lung cancer identified by screening LDCT (mean 23.57, SEM: ±3.73), in comparison to 37 high-risk subjects with benign-appearing lung nodules on LDCT (3.92 (±0.62)) (p Conclusions: This seminal study suggests that CTC detection can accurately identify lung cancers in high-risk subjects with a nodule on screening LDCT. CTC phenotyping in lung cancer patients allows real-time insights that are potentially highly relevant for personalized treatment strategies. Citation Format: YARISWAMY MANJUNATH, Sathisha Upparahalli Venkateshaiah, Eric T. Kimchi, Kevin F. Staveley-O9Carroll, Jared Coberly, Diego M. Avella, Timothy J. Hoffman, Chelsea Deroche, Klaus Pantel, Guangfu Li, Jussuf T. Kaifi. Circulating tumor cells accurately detect and characterize lung cancers in high-risk subjects undergoing low-dose CT screening [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 917.