CIRCULATING tumour cell (CTC) count may improve the diagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), according to new research from China.
The findings suggest that CTC count, in combination with prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels and prostate cancer likelihood scores, achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy in a cohort of men who underwent prostate biopsy.
Higher CTC Positivity in Patients with csPCa
The study evaluated the diagnostic value of CTC detection in patients who underwent ultrasound guided prostate biopsy between December 2023 and June 2024. A total of 90 patents were included; 46 of the patients had a positive CTC result. Altogether 52 patients were diagnosed with csPCa.
Researchers compared baseline characteristics and biopsy findings between the CTC positive and negative groups. Patients with positive CTC results showed significantly higher PSA levels (p=0.001), larger prostate volumes (p=0.07), higher Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) scores (p<0.001), and more advanced clinical stages of prostate cancer (p<0.001). These patients also demonstrated higher biopsy Gleason scores (p<0.001) and greater detection rates of csPCa (p=0.003).
It was determined that the detection rate of CTC positivity was 63.5% among patients with csPCa, in contrast to 34.2% among patients without csPCa.
Combined Model Produces Higher Diagnostic Efficacy
Multivariate analysis identified that PSA levels, PI-RADS score, and CTC count were independent predictors of csPCa. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis then demonstrated that when combined CTC count, PSA levels, and PI-RADS scores produced the strongest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the curve of 0.913.
The combined model showed significantly higher diagnostic efficacy than PI-RADS score alone (p=0.048). However, no statistically significant difference was observed when compared with a combination of PSA levels and PI-RADS score (p=0.191).
Future studies may choose to explore gene-level analysis or single-cell sequencing of captured CTCs to better understand how specific genomic alterations influence biopsy outcomes.
Reference
Qian J et al. Diagnostic efficacy of circulating tumor cell in clinically significant prostate cancer. Sci Rep. 2026; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-56466-w.
Featured image: heitipaves on Adobe Stock
- Author:
