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World J Gastrointest Oncol. Mar 15, 2026; 18(3): 115664
Published online Mar 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i3.115664
Published online Mar 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i3.115664
Preoperative circulating tumor cells as a prognostic indicator in gastric cancer
Qiu-Xian Chen, Wei-Ming Zeng, Yong-Bin Zhang, Chen-Bin Lv, Yu-Qin Sun, Li-Sheng Cai, Department of Gastric and Small Bowel Surgery, Zhangzhou Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Zhangzhou 363000, Fujian Province, China
Yi-Chen Cai, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, Fujian Province, China
Co-first authors: Qiu-Xian Chen and Wei-Ming Zeng.
Author contributions: Chen QX, Zeng WM, and Cai LS designed the study; Chen QX, Zeng WM, Lv CB and Sun YQ were responsible for developing the methodology; Chen QX, Zeng WM, Sun YQ, Zhang YB and Cai YC collected and analyzed data; Chen QX, Zeng WM, Sun YQ, Zhang YB and Cai YC performed statistical analysis; Chen QX and Zeng WM wrote the original draft; Cai LS, Chen QX, Zeng WM and Sun YQ participated in the review and editing. All authors approved the final version. Chen QX and Zeng WM contributed equally to this work as co-first authors.
Supported by Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, No. 2024J011567.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhangzhou Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, No. 2025 LWB252.
Informed consent statement: All patients provided written informed consent to participate in this study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Li-Sheng Cai, Adjunct Associate Professor, Chief Physician, De
Received: October 22, 2025
Revised: December 1, 2025
Accepted: December 30, 2025
Published online: March 15, 2026
Processing time: 141 Days and 11.2 Hours
Revised: December 1, 2025
Accepted: December 30, 2025
Published online: March 15, 2026
Processing time: 141 Days and 11.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study demonstrates that preoperative detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a potent and minimally invasive prognostic tool for gastric cancer. We found that CTCs-positive status was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological features, including advanced tumor stage and metastasis. Importantly, CTCs positivity was an in