Cancers, Vol. 18, Pages 1: Response Prediction of Chemoradiotherapy for Rectal Cancer Using Rapid Semi-Automated Flow Cytometry

Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers18010001

Authors:
Hiroyuki Amagai
Koichi Hayano
Takahiro Shioyama
Akane Suzuki
Gaku Ohira
Tetsuro Maruyama
Toru Tochigi
Koichiro Okada
Takahiro Arasawa
Nobufumi Sekino
Ryoya Mizumachi
Soichiro Hirasawa
Masaya Uesato
Michihiro Maruyama
Yoshihiro Kurata
Atsushi Hirata
Hisahiro Matsubara

(1) Background: The effectiveness of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for rectal cancer varies greatly among patients, and no reliable biomarker for predicting treatment response currently exists. We investigated whether cell cycle analysis using rapid semi-automated flow cytometry could predict the effectiveness of CRT. (2) Methods: This prospective study included 32 patients with rectal cancer undergoing CRT. The cell cycle of biopsy specimens from rectal cancer patients before CRT was semi-automatically and rapidly analyzed using Celltac PEAK as flow cytometer. The proportion of cell cycle phases is compared with treatment response after CRT. (3) Results: Patients with a tumor reduction rate ≥ 30% on CT showed a significantly higher proportion of cells in the Over G2/M phase compared with those with <30% reduction (median 2.45% vs. 0.95%, p = 0.022). Similarly, tumors demonstrating disappearance of FDG uptake after CRT had a significantly higher proportion of cells in the Over G2/M phase compared with those with persistent FDG uptake (median 4.05% vs. 1.24%, p = 0.024). (4) Conclusions: A high proportion of cells in the Over G2/M phase could be a potential biomarker for predicting tumor shrinkage in CRT for rectal cancer.

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Hiroyuki Amagai www.mdpi.com