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Prospective Study for the Prognostic and Predictive Role of Circulating Tumor Cells in Patients With Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: CTCO (Circulating Tumor Cells in the Oropharynx)

NCT04696744 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 12

Last updated 2026-03-11

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Head and neck cancers (HNSCC) are primarily squamous cell cancers represented by tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract. Locally advanced stages (stages III and IV) account for 50 to 70% of all presentations. The three main risk factors are smoking, alcohol and oropharyngeal infection with human papilloma virus (HPV).

Apart from HPV status, there is no biomarker for the prognosis in HSNCC patients. Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) can provide "real-time" information on tumor behavior and are already used in various cancers (colon, lung). Their detection has limited sensitivity and biomarkers cannot be used for early diagnosis, but may be useful during follow-up to assess local, regional or metastatic early tumor recurrence.

By using blood samples at different times (at diagnosis, after initial treatment and during follow-up), we will be able to measure the variation in quantification and establish a predictive role of these CTCs for the response to treatment.

Our hypothesis is that CTCs may have a key role, in addition to clinical and radiological examination, in detecting early tumor relapse.

We believe that the joint consideration of clinical parameters, treatment strategy and quantification of CTCs could optimize patient follow-up and management.

The CTC extraction system, ClearCell® FX from Biolidics, is an automated microfluidic enrichment system. It has the advantage of recovering fully intact and viable CTCs from a standard blood sample. The gentle sorting principle allows to preserve cell integrity and thus the expression of surface antigens. The CTCs thus isolated can then be re-cultured or analyzed by immunostaining. This high-performance technique, in operation since December 2017 in the Biochemistry Department of Pr Claire Rodriguez-Lafrasse (HCL), has demonstrated its usefulness in lung cancer.

Transcriptomic analysis of CTCs can be performed at the scale of a cell after isolation of the CTCs. CTCs can then be sequenced in RNAseq either in bulk (pool of cells) or cell by cell on our Illumina (Nextseq) sequencer, in order to define the heterogeneity of the tumor. Transcriptome analysis then provides information on the state of the cell as to its position in the epithelio-mesenchymal transition thanks to a molecular signature by phenotype. A priori-free characterization is therefore possible thanks to the RNAseq single-cell. This highly sensitive and innovative technique will allow the study of the gene expression profile of CTCs.

Conditions

  • Circulating Tumor Cell
  • Oropharyngeal Cancer

Interventions

BIOLOGICAL

CTC detection

The collection and analysis of CTCs will be carried out in the following 6 steps: A blood sample will be taken: a maximum volume of 30 ml on 3 x 10 ml BD Vacutainer® EDTA tubes is required for the study. CTCs will be enumerated and characterized by immunofluorescence after immunostaining with the following antibodies: anticytokeratin, anti-CD44, anti-N-cadherin and anti-PD-L1. • - Secondary criterion(s) : Different tumor and clinical parameters will be analysed to find a correlation with CTC detection Gene expression profiles will be analyzed using the RNAseq single-cell at different times: before treatment, at interim times, and in case of relapse in order to establish correlations between patients at high risk of relapse and their molecular profiles

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Hospices Civils de Lyon

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Philouze Pierre, Dr · Service ORL Chirurgie Cervico-faciale

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2021-06-23
Primary Completion
2023-03-17
Completion
2023-03-17

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04696744 on ClinicalTrials.gov