Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Cervical Cancer Patients Receiving Chemoradiation

Invasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix remains the most common invasive cancer in women in many countries. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is now recommended as a standard treatment for locally advanced and high-risk cervical carcinoma. However, CCRT achieves a better control of cervical cancer accompanied by greater morbidity. To avoid unnecessary over-treatment, the optimization of CCRT is of critical importance. Herein, the development of a surrogate marker for monitoring treatment efficacy as well as toxicity is pivotal to optimize CCRT. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC), derived from bone marrow, can be used as a marker for optimizing and monitoring the anti-angiogenesis therapy including angiogenesis inhibitors and metronomic chemotherapy. Preclinical models indicated that the source of apoptotic circulating endothelial cells (CEC) was most likely the tumor vasculature. In breast cancer patients, apoptotic CEC were demonstrated to be a surrogate marker for efficacy of metronomic therapy. In this grant, we intent to monitor the levels of circulating EPC/CEC in locally advanced cervical cancer patients before, during and after CCRT.