Discrimination between Circulating Endothelial Cells and Blood Cell Populations with Overlapping Phenotype Reveals Distinct Regulation and Predictive Potential in Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Flow cytometric CEC analysis based on CD45, CD31, and CD146 requires careful discrimination between blood cell populations with overlapping phenotype showing hallmarks of activated T cells and large platelets. However, these three cell populations show distinct regulation during cancer therapy, and their concomitant analysis may offer extended prognostic and predictive information.