Over expression of the Chemokine rReceptor CCR7 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: Correlation with circulating tumor cells

Disseminated circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that have detached from the primary tumor and survived in the circulation, thus enable the spread of cancer from its site of origin. The chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) has been linked to tumor dissemination and poor prognosis in solid tumors. However, its relationships with CTCs in liver cancer still not clear.This study aimed to identify the relationshipbetween CCR7 and CTCs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and to assess their predictive values as non invasive markers. Seventy-one HCC patients and 20 normal individuals were included. CTCs were detected in the peripheral blood by flow cytometry defined as CD45¯CK19+CD90+cells. Expression of CCR7 was assessed by real time PCR. Clinical and routine laboratory investigations included tumor size and number of tumors detected by ultrasound. Also, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), CBC, PT, INR, ALT, AST, bilirubin, albumin, and creatinine were analyzed.

Results indicated that HCC patients were classified according to their Childs-Pugh score system (CPSS) into 2 subgroups A5 (N=51) and A6 (n=20). It was found that CCR7mRNA increased significantly in HCC patients and its elevation was correlated with CTCs count. Besides, there were significant differences in CCR7mRNA and in CTCs between the studied groups. Both CCR7 and CTCs were significantly correlated with age, levels of ALT, and AST and negatively with platelets and serum albumin. CCR7 mRNA was correlated significantly with total bilirubin and tumor size, while CTCs was significantly correlated with AFP and INR.