Prognostic value of circulating tumor cells and its association with the expression of cancer stem cells in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

The release of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) into vasculature is an early event in the metastatic process and the detection of CTCs has been widely used clinically. In addition, cancer stem cells (CSCs) are the source of distant metastasis. However, the relationship between CTCs and CSCs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients was largely unknown. A total of 93 NPC patients were enrolled in this study. The CTCs in the peripheral blood were detected. The expression of ALDH1A1 in the tumor tissues of the corresponding patients was detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The prognostic value of CTCs level and the correlation with the expression of ALDH1A1 was evaluated. Data showed that the detection of CTCs was positively correlated with metastasis (p