{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,5]],"date-time":"2026-11-05T20:04:17Z","timestamp":1793909057601,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]],"date-time":"2025-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739318400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["413668513"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["413668513"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Interdisciplinary Center of Clinical Research of the Medical Faculty Jena","award":["413668513"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["413668513"]}]},{"name":"Else-Kroner-Fresenius-Stiftung","award":["413668513"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["413668513"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men, with radiotherapy (RT) playing a pivotal role in treatment. However, reliable biomarkers for assessing relapse risk following RT remain scarce. This study aimed to evaluate circulating epithelial tumor cells (CETC\/CTC) as potential biomarkers for assessing relapse risk in prostate cancer patients undergoing RT. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 52 prostate cancer patients, and CETC\/CTC were detected using the EpCAM surface marker. Patients received definitive, adjuvant, or salvage RT, and CETC\/CTC counts were measured before, at mid-treatment, and at the end of RT. The association between changes in CETC\/CTC counts and relapse risk was examined. CETC\/CTC were detected in 96% of patients prior to RT. A significant reduction in CETC\/CTC counts during RT, particularly in patients who had undergone surgery, was associated with a lower relapse risk. In contrast, an increase in CETC\/CTC counts during or after RT was associated with a higher relapse risk (hazard ratio = 8.8; p = 0.002). Furthermore, 36% of patients receiving adjuvant RT and 14% of those receiving definitive RT relapsed, with a higher risk observed in patients showing increasing CETC\/CTC counts during RT. Among patients receiving salvage RT, 18% relapsed, though changes in CETC\/CTC counts were less significantly associated with relapse. Monitoring CETC\/CTC levels during RT offers important prognostic insights into relapse risk in prostate cancer patients. While changes in CETC\/CTC counts correlated with relapse, PSA levels measured during the study did not reliably reflect relapse risk in this cohort. CETC\/CTC shows promise as a prognostic marker, though further studies are required to validate its clinical superiority over PSA.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26041548","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]],"date-time":"2025-02-12T08:05:42Z","timestamp":1739347542000},"page":"1548","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Circulating Epithelial Tumor Cells (CETC\/CTC) in Prostate Cancer: Potential Prognostic Marker for the Risk of Recurrence During Radiotherapy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Dorothea","family":"Schott","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Transfusion Medicine Center Bayreuth, Kurpromenade 2, 95448 Bayreuth, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6599-3731","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monika","family":"Pizon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transfusion Medicine Center Bayreuth, Kurpromenade 2, 95448 Bayreuth, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sonia","family":"Drozdz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Jena, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irina","family":"M\u00e4urer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Neurooncology Center, University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8751-9862","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Georg","family":"Wurschi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Jena, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany"},{"name":"Clinician Scientist Program, Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF), Jena Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katharina","family":"Pachmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transfusion Medicine Center Bayreuth, Kurpromenade 2, 95448 Bayreuth, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9662-3082","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matthias","family":"M\u00e4urer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Jena, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany"},{"name":"Clinician Scientist Program OrganAge, Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF), Jena Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Leslie, S.W., Soon-Sutton, T.L., and Skelton, W.P. 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