Circulating Tumor Cells in Peripheral Blood Samples From Patients With Increased Serum Prostate Specific Antigen: Initial Results in Early Prostate Cancer

In metastatic breast, prostate and other cancers more than 5 circulating tumor cells are often detected using the CellSearch System, and may correlate with prognosis. However, in the setting of localized prostate cancer the number of detectable circulating tumor cells was low, with findings comparable to those in men who were biopsy negative for cancer. We found no correlation between the number of circulating tumor cells and known prognostic factors in this population.