Pre- and Postoperative Levels of Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Microsatellite Stable Versus Instable Colon Cancer: a Retrospective Analysis.

Purpose: The prognosis of microsatellite stable (MSS) versus instable (MSI) tumors is an ongoing matter of debate, with differences in expression of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in these two tumor subsets being inconsistently reported to date. The aim of this study was to investigate CEA expression in the context of clinical parameters in MSS and MSI tumors.

Methods: Clinical, pathological, and biochemical parameters of colon cancer patients who underwent curative surgery were documented in a database and compared between MSS and MSI cases.

Are morphological criteria sufficient for the identification of circulating tumor cells in renal cancer?

Background: Single circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or circulating tumor microemboli (CTMs) are potential biomarkers of renal cell cancer (RCC), however studies of CTCs/CTMs in RCC are limited. In this pilot study we aimed to evaluate a novel blood filtration technique suited for cytomorphological classification, immunocytochemical and molecular characterization of filtered, so called circulating non-hematologic cells (CNHCs) - putative CTCs/CTMs - in patients with RCC.

Methods: Blood of 40 patients with renal tumors was subjected to ScreenCell filtration.