{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T09:20:36Z","timestamp":1791537636646,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,24]],"date-time":"2022-11-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1669248000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Faber-Castell (Brazil)"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cancer is primarily a disease in which late diagnosis is linked to poor prognosis, and unfortunately, detection and management are still challenging. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a potential resource to address this disease. Cell fusion, an event discovered recently in CTCs expressing carcinoma and leukocyte markers, occurs when \u22652 cells become a single entity (hybrid cell) after the merging of their plasma membranes. Cell fusion is still poorly understood despite continuous evaluations in in vitro\/in vivo studies. Blood samples from 14 patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil) were collected with the aim to analyze the CTCs\/hybrid cells and their correlation to clinical outcome. The EDTA collected blood (6 mL) from patients was used to isolate\/identify CTCs\/hybrid cells by ISET. We used markers with possible correlation with the phenomenon of cell fusion, such as MC1-R, EpCAM and CD45, as well as CEN8 expression by CISH analysis. Samples were collected at three timepoints: baseline, after one month (first follow-up) and after three months (second follow-up) of treatment with olaparib (total sample = 38). Fourteen patients were included and in baseline and first follow-up all patients showed at least one CTC. We found expression of MC1-R, EpCAM and CD45 in cells (hybrid) in at least one of the collection moments. Membrane staining with CD45 was found in CTCs from the other cohort, from the other center, evaluated by the CellSearch\u00ae system. The presence of circulating tumor microemboli (CTM) in the first follow-up was associated with a poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) (5.2 vs. 12.2 months; p = 0.005). The MC1-R expression in CTM in the first and second follow-ups was associated with a shorter RFS (p = 0.005). CEN8 expression in CTCs was also related to shorter RFS (p = 0.035). Our study identified a high prevalence of CTCs in ovarian cancer patients, as well as hybrid cells. Both cell subtypes demonstrate utility in prognosis and in the assessment of response to treatment. In addition, the expression of MC1-R and EpCAM in hybrid cells brings new perspectives as a possible marker for this phenomenon in ovarian cancer.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms232314687","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,25]],"date-time":"2022-11-25T02:05:37Z","timestamp":1669341937000},"page":"14687","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Fusion Cell Markers in Circulating Tumor Cells from Patients with High-Grade Ovarian Serous Carcinoma"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7793-6032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna Paula Carreta","family":"Ruano","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"International Research Center, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01508-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea Paiva","family":"Gadelha Guimar\u00e3es","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Oncology Department, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01525-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexcia C.","family":"Braun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Research Center, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01508-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6490-6309","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bianca C. T. C. P.","family":"Flores","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Research Center, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01508-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Milena Shizue","family":"Tariki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Oncology Department, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01525-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4441-4507","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emne A.","family":"Abdallah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Research Center, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01508-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jacqueline Aparecida","family":"Torres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Research Center, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01508-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diana Noronha","family":"Nunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Research Center, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01508-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1620-7570","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bruna","family":"Tirapelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Oncology Department, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01525-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3955-1101","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vladmir C. Cordeiro","family":"de Lima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Oncology Department, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01525-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marcello Ferretti","family":"Fanelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"N\u00facleo de Pesquisa e Ensino da Rede S\u00e3o Camilo, S\u00e3o Paulo 04014-002, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0697-109X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pierre-Emmanuel","family":"Colombo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgical Oncology, Institut du Cancer de Montpellier, ICM-Val d\u2019Aurelle, 34090 Montpellier, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1631-0105","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandre Andr\u00e9 Balieiro Anast\u00e1cio","family":"da Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Oncology Department, A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, S\u00e3o Paulo 01525-010, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6401-2903","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catherine","family":"Alix-Panabi\u00e8res","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Rare Human Circulating Cells (LCCRH), Department University Medical Centre of Montpellier, 34295 Montpellier, France"},{"name":"CREEC\/CANECEV, MIVEGEC (CREES), University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, 34000 Montpellier, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ludmilla Thom\u00e9 Domingos","family":"Chinen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"N\u00facleo de Pesquisa e Ensino da Rede S\u00e3o Camilo, S\u00e3o Paulo 04014-002, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3029","DOI":"10.1002\/cncr.33587","article-title":"The ever-increasing importance of cancer as a leading cause of premature death worldwide","volume":"127","author":"Bray","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cancer"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.3322\/caac.21660","article-title":"Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries","volume":"71","author":"Sung","year":"2021","journal-title":"CA Cancer J. 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