{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,19]],"date-time":"2026-04-19T17:44:08Z","timestamp":1776620648105,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]],"date-time":"2021-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1634688000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Management of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) largely relies on surgery and other systemic therapies. However, the poor diagnosis of cancer recurrence or metastasis can lead to a high frequency of treatment failure. Thus, factors that can predict disease status and prognosis of patients need to be identified. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are known to accurately predict survival of patients. Here, we report a case in which CTCs successfully predicted the progression of metastatic colon polyps after interventional therapy for HCC. A 48-year-old man was diagnosed with HCC with moderate differentiation in 2016 and subsequently underwent orthotopic liver transplantation. Discharge medications were continued with immunosuppressants (tacrolimus) and antiviral drugs (Titin). In 2018, a colon polyp, a type of tubular adenoma, was detected and surgically removed. However, in 2020, the same tubular adenoma recurred. During cancer progression, CTC counts were measured to monitor the status of metastasis, and a positive correlation was noted between the dynamic change in CTC counts and cancer response (metastasis or recurrence). When diagnosing the metastatic adenoma, the number of cytokeratin-positive CTCs was significantly increased; however, it dropped to zero after the polyp was surgically removed. The same change in CTC counts was observed during the second recurrence of the adenoma, and a subgroup of CTCs, cell surface vimentin-positive CTCs, was significantly increased. The CTC count dropped to an undetectable level after the surgery for the first time. In summary, we presented a clinical case in which CTC counts could predict disease progression during HCC metastasis. Thus, CTC counts should be measured after liver transplantation in patients with HCC for diagnosis and clinical decision-making as it is effective in monitoring cancer progression.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2021.760765","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]],"date-time":"2021-10-20T23:39:48Z","timestamp":1634773188000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Measurement of Circulating Tumor Cells to Track Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression After Liver Transplantation-Case Report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Yuan","family":"Deng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Heng","family":"Liang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bojing","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Caimei","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dan","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Arabella","family":"Wan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guohui","family":"Wan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ijc.33588","article-title":"Cancer Statistics for the Year 2020: An Overview","volume":"149","author":"Ferlay","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Cancer"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ccell.2019.07.001","article-title":"A Pharmacogenomic Landscape in Human Liver Cancers","volume":"36","author":"Qiu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cancer Cell"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/annonc\/mdy510","article-title":"Hepatocellular Carcinoma: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis, Treatment and Follow-Up","volume":"30","author":"Vogel","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ann Oncol"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000086626","article-title":"Cancer Invasion and Metastasis","author":"Wittekind","year":"2005","journal-title":"Oncology"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"899","DOI":"10.1158\/1078-0432.CCR-14-0894","article-title":"Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transitioned Circulating Tumor Cells Capture for Detecting Tumor Progression","volume":"21","author":"Satelli","year":"2015","journal-title":"Clin Cancer Res"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"288","DOI":"10.1158\/2159-8290.CD-16-1406","article-title":"An RNA-Based Digital Circulating Tumor Cell Signature Is Predictive of Drug Response and Early Dissemination in Prostate Cancer","volume":"8","author":"Miyamoto","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cancer Discovery"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/srep42612","article-title":"An Integrated Microfluidic Device for Rapid and High-Sensitivity Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells","volume":"7","author":"Jiang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/hep.31846","article-title":"Loss-Of-Function Genetic Screening Identifies Aldolase A as an Essential Driver for Liver Cancer Cell Growth Under Hypoxia","volume":"74","author":"Niu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Hepatology"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e103181","DOI":"10.15252\/embj.2019103181","article-title":"RNA M(6) A Methylation Regulates Sorafenib Resistance in Liver Cancer Through FOXO3-Mediated Autophagy","volume":"39","author":"Lin","year":"2020","journal-title":"EMBO J"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/gutjnl-2020-320652","article-title":"RNA-Binding Protein RALY Reprogrammes Mitochondrial Metabolism via Mediating miRNA Processing in Colorectal Cancer","volume":"70","author":"Sun","year":"2021","journal-title":"Gut"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4939-7401-6_18","article-title":"Circulating Tumor Cells","volume":"1692","author":"Garcia","year":"2018","journal-title":"Methods Mol Biol"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/PPO.0000000000000310","article-title":"Circulating Tumor Cells: Strategies for Capture, Analyses, and Propagation","volume":"24","author":"Agarwal","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cancer J"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-94-017-7215-0_21","article-title":"The Role of CTCs as Tumor Biomarkers","volume":"867","author":"Lianidou","year":"2015","journal-title":"Adv Exp Med Biol"},{"key":"B14","article-title":"Detection of Circulating Cytokeratin-Positive Cells in the Blood of Breast Cancer Patients Using Immunomagnetic Enrichment and Digital Microscopy","volume":"8","author":"Witzig","year":"2002","journal-title":"Clin Cancer Res"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejso.2011.01.025","article-title":"The Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Non-Metastatic Colorectal Cancer\u2013a Review","volume":"37","author":"Thorsteinsson","year":"2011","journal-title":"Eur J Surg Oncol"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers10100377","article-title":"Classification of Cells in CTC-Enriched Samples by Advanced Image Analysis","volume":"10","author":"de Wit","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cancers (Basel)"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3978\/j.issn.2072-1439.2013.09.18","article-title":"Cytokeratin-Based CTC Counting Unrelated to Clinical Follow Up","volume":"5","author":"Chinen","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Thorac Dis"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1158\/2159-8290.CD-11-0215","article-title":"A Novel Platform for Detection of CK+ and CK- CTCs","volume":"1","author":"Pecot","year":"2011","journal-title":"Cancer Discovery"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1186\/s13058-020-01323-5","article-title":"HER2 Expression on Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles and Circulating Tumor Cells in Metastatic Breast Cancer","volume":"22","author":"Nanou","year":"2020","journal-title":"Breast Cancer Res"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/1878-0261.12643","article-title":"Prognostic Significance of PD-L1 Expression on Cell-Surface Vimentin-Positive Circulating Tumor Cells in Gastric Cancer Patients","volume":"14","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Mol Oncol"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/hep.31165","article-title":"Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells and Their Implications as a Biomarker for Diagnosis, Prognostication, and Therapeutic Monitoring in Hepatocellular Carcinoma","volume":"73","author":"Ahn","year":"2021","journal-title":"Hepatology"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"485","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers13030485","article-title":"Preoperative CTC-Detection by CellSearch\u00ae Is Associated With Early Distant Metastasis and Impaired Survival in Resected Pancreatic Cancer","volume":"13","author":"Hugenschmidt","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cancers (Basel)"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1158\/1078-0432.CCR-20-2891","article-title":"Circulating Tumor Cell Subtypes and T-Cell Populations as Prognostic Biomarkers to Combination Immunotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Genitourinary Cancer","volume":"27","author":"Chalfin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Clin Cancer Res"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/liv.14734","article-title":"Detection of Circulating Tumour Cells Enables Early Recurrence Prediction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation","volume":"41","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Liver Int"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijrobp.2020.08.039","article-title":"The Role of Circulating Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer and Implications for Radiation Treatment Decisions","volume":"109","author":"Goodman","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3892\/etm.2018.6507","article-title":"Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cells via Combined Whole Exome Sequencing in Early Stage Cancer Screening: A Case Report","volume":"16","author":"Su","year":"2018","journal-title":"Exp Ther Med"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"373n877","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.n877","article-title":"Risk of Colorectal Cancer in First Degree Relatives of Patients With Colorectal Polyps: Nationwide Case-Control Study in Sweden","volume":"2021","author":"Song","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aay0939","article-title":"Deregulation of Ribosomal Protein Expression and Translation Promotes Breast Cancer Metastasis","volume":"367","author":"Ebright","year":"2020","journal-title":"Science"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Oncology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fonc.2021.760765\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]],"date-time":"2021-10-20T23:39:51Z","timestamp":1634773191000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fonc.2021.760765\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]]},"references-count":28,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fonc.2021.760765"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fonc.2021.760765","relation":{},"ISSN":["2234-943X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2234-943X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,20]]},"article-number":"760765"}}