Dataset related to article "Subpopulations of Circulating Cells with Morphological Features of Malignancy Are Preoperatively Detected and Have Differential Prognostic Significance in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer "

This record contains raw data related to article “Subpopulations of Circulating Cells with Morphological Features of Malignancy Are Preoperatively Detected and Have Differential Prognostic Significance in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer" <strong>Background: </strong> Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) frequently presents when surgical intervention is no longer feasible. Despite local treatment with curative intent, patients might experience disease recurrence. In this context, accurate non-invasive biomarkers are urgently needed. We report the results of a pilot study on the diagnostic and prognostic role of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in operable NSCLC. <strong>Methods: </strong> Blood samples collected from healthy volunteers (<em>n</em> = 10), nodule-negative high-risk individuals enrolled in a screening program (<em>n</em> = 7), and NSCLC patients (<em>n</em> = 74) before surgery were analyzed (4 mL) for the presence of cells with morphological features of malignancy enriched through the ISET^® technology. <strong>Results: </strong> CTC detection was 60% in patients, while no target cells were found in lung cancer-free donors. We identified single CTCs (sCTC, 46%) and clusters of CTCs and leukocytes (heterotypic clusters, hetCLU, 31%). The prevalence of sCTC (sCTC/4 mL ≥ 2) or the presence of hetCLU predicted the risk of disease recurrence within the cohort of early-stage (I-II, <em>n</em> = 52) or advanced stage cases (III-IVA, <em>n</em> = 22), respectively, while other tumor-related factors did not inform prognosis. <strong>Conclusions: </strong> Cancer cell hematogenous dissemination occurs frequently in patients with NSCLC without clinical evidence of distant metastases, laying the foundation for the application of cell-based tests in screening programs. CTC subpopulations are fine prognostic classifiers whose clinical validity should be further investigated in larger studies.