Abstract:

Objective To investigate the application of morphological analysis of circulating tumor cells（CTC） in tumor clinical examination. Methods Peripheral blood samples of 212 patients with tumors were collected and analyzed by CTCBIOPSY detection system. The morphological analysis of CTC was performed by microscopy. The clinical applicability of morphological criteria was further verified by immunohistochemistry with CD45 and CD31 antibodies. The relationship between CTC count and detection rate and clinical factors,such as tumor type and clinical stage,was analyzed. Results The detection rate of CTC was 41.51%,and the specificity was 100%. Comparing the CTC-positive group with the CTC-negative group,there was statistical significance in age（P=0.036） and TNM stage（P<0.001）. The detection rate of CTC and CTC count were different in different types of tumors and different stages of the same type of tumor. The detection rate of CTC was the highest in patients with advanced lung cancer and prostate cancer,and the difference of CTC count in patients with early and advanced tumors had statistical significance（P<0.001）. Conclusions CTC morphological analysis can preserve the integrity of cells,and it can judge rapidly the CTC of various tumors,with good specificity and general sensitivity.

Key words: Circulating tumor cell, Peripheral blood, Morphology, Isolation by the size of epithelial tumor cell