ArticleJournal of translational medicine2025
Early release of circulating tumor cells after transarterial chemoembolization hinders therapeutic response in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Decoding CTCs in osteosarcoma: the molecular journey from initial tumor to metastasis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- TACE combined with tislelizumab and lenvatinib in the treatment of intermediate-to-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective real-world study.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Liquid biopsy of circulating tumor cells: From isolation, enrichment, and genome sequencing to clinical applications.Histology and histopathology · 2025Review
- Extracellular vesicle digital scoring assay for assessment of treatment responses in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTransarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the first-line therapeutic option for patients with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tumor neovascularization allows tumor growth and may facilitate the release of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to the bloodstream after TACE. We investigated the relationship between early release of CTCs and radiological response after TACE.
methodsProspective, single-center study including patients with HCC undergoing a first TACE from January 2019 to June 2023. The IsoFlux® system was used to evaluate EpCAM+ CTC counts before TACE, at day 1 (D1), and at day 30 after TACE. Radiological response to TACE was assessed according to the mRECIST criteria one month after the procedure. Tumor vascularity was assessed by an interventional radiologist.
resultsIn all, 48 patients with HCC undergoing TACE were included (age 64.2 ± 7.6 years, 14.6% women). CTC levels increased at D1 (114.0% [IQR 76.5%-178.0%], p = 0.019) and normalized to baseline levels in the first month after TACE (76.5% [IQR 41.3%-131.8%], p = 0.263). Higher CTC counts at baseline (p = 0.009) and at D1 (p = 0.026) were associated with tumor hypervascularity. Larger tumor size [OR: 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.3), p = 0.020] and CTC increase at D1 [OR: 5.3 (95% CI: 1.3-21.0), p = 0.017] were independent predictors of non-response to TACE, especially for those patients with hypervascular lesions.
conclusionsA meaningful release of CTCs 24 h after TACE was associated with suboptimal tumor response one month after the procedure. Future studies should evaluate the role of CTC dynamics to select candidates for adjuvant therapy after TACE and to analyze their impact on long-term outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.