[The significance of circulating tumor cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a preliminary study].

Objective To investigate the significance of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). Methods Twenty-four patients with HNSCC treated between October 2016 and July 2017 in our department were selected (experimental group), including 23 males and 1 females, aged 47-81 years. There were 14 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of larynx and 10 cases of hypopharynx, including I-Ⅱ stage (5 cases) and Ⅲ- Ⅳ stage (19 cases). All patients were primary and/or relapsed after treatment. Nine healthy volunteers were selected as control group. A novel in vivo capture technique (CellCellector system) was used to detect CTC. SPSS23.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results The total capture rate of CTC in patients with HNSCC before treatment was 70.8% (17/24), with 40% (2/5) for patients at I-Ⅱ stage, and 78.9% (15/19) for patients at Ⅲ- Ⅳ stage, and was 0 in patients of control group. The total capture rate of CTC in patients with HNSCC after treatment was 50% (8/16). There was no significant correlation between CTC and age, sex, location of tumor or lymph node metastasis (P>0.05). CTC was related to tumor staging and tumor differentiation (P<0.05). The positive rate of EGFRVⅢ in CTC was 26.3% (5/19). Conclusions The CellCollector system is a very efficient way of detecting CTC, and CTC plays an important role in the occurrence, progression and metastasis of HNSCC. Key words: Neoplastic cells, circulating; Head and neck neoplasms; Carcinoma, squamous cell; Receptor, Epidermal growth factor; Mutation