Baseline CD44v6-positive circulating tumor cells to predict first-line treatment failure in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Chiara Nicolazzo; Flavia Loreni; Salvatore Caponnetto; Valentina Magri; Anna Rita Vestri; Rita Zamarchi; Angela Gradilone; Antonella Facchinetti; Elisabetta Rossi; Enrico Cortesi; Paola Gazzaniga

doi:10.18632/oncotarget.27794

Baseline CD44v6-positive circulating tumor cells to predict first-line treatment failure in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Oncotarget. 2020 Nov 10;11(45):4115-4122. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.27794.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular Medicine, Liquid Biopsy Unit, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
² Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
⁵ Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Italy.

Abstract

CD44v6, the CD44 isoform mostly involved in cancer cell migration and invasion, has been identified as a functional biomarker and therapeutic target in colon cancer stem cells. We here provide evidence that baseline CD44v6-positive CTC predict treatment failure in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer undergoing first-line chemotherapy. We suggest that CD44v6-positive CTC can be used to early detect intrinsic drug resistance in this cancer type.

Keywords: CD44v6; CellSearch®; cancer stem cells; circulating tumor cells; colorectal cancer.