Objective:Previousworkindicatedthataneuploidyofchromosome8incirculatingtumorcells(CTCs)correlatedwiththerapeuticefficacyforadvancedgastriccancer(AGC)patients.Inthisfollow-upstudyperformedonthesamepopulationofAGCpatients,weinvestigatedwhetherandhowaneuploidyofchromosome8inCTCscorrelateswithpatients'clinicalprognosis.Methods:Theprospectivestudywasperformedon31patientswithnewlydiagnosedAGC.Previouslyestablishedintegratedsubtractionenrichment(SE)andimmunostaining-fluorescenceinsituhybridization(iFISH)platformwasappliedtoidentify,enumerateandcharacterizeCTCs.QuantificationofCTCsandanalysisoftheiraneuploidyofchromosome8wereperformedonpatientsbeforeandaftertherapy.Results:CTCsweremeasuredin93.5%ofAGCpatients,andtwoCTCsubtypeswithpersethresholdvalueswereidentified,multiploidCTCswiththethresholdof≥2per7.5mLandmultiploidplustriploidCTCswiththethresholdof≥4,whichwerefoundtosignificantlycorrelatewithpoorprogression-freesurvival(PFS)andoverallsurvival(OS).Inparticular,patientswith≥10%increasedmultiploidCTCsafteraninitial6weeksoftherapyhadpoorPFSandOS,whereasimprovedPFSandOSwereobservedonthosewhohad≥10%decreasedmultiploidCTCs.Afteradjustingforclinicallysignificantfactors,≥10%increasedpost-therapymultiploidCTCswastheonlyindependentpredictorofPFSandOS.Conclusions:AneuploidyofCTCscorrelateswithprognosisofAGCpatients.QuantitativecomparisonmonitoringmultiploidCTCsbeforeandaftertherapymayhelppredictimprovedorinferiorprognosisandchemoresistance.
