# Clinical Characteristics of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Combined with Gastrointestinal Perforation and Prognostic Value of Circulating Tumor DNA

Authors: Hong Yang; Dongwen Rong; Wenhui Yang
Journal: Emergency Medicine International
 (2022)

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## Abstract

Objective. To explore the clinical characteristics of metastatic colorectal cancer combined with gastrointestinal perforation and the prognostic value of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Methods. A total of 97 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal perforation were enrolled as the research objects between February 2016 and January 2019. Their clinicopathological characteristics were statistically analyzed. Patients were divided into the death group (n = 78) and the survival group (n = 19) according to their survival status at 3 years after surgery. The ctDNA level between the two groups was compared. Also, its evaluation value on patient prognosis was analyzed. The survival time in patients with different levels of ctDNA was compared. Results. The clinical staging was stage T4 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer combined with gastrointestinal perforation, including 70 cases (72.16%) aged ≥60 years and 27 cases (27.84%) <60 years. There were 61 males (62.89%) and 36 females (37.11%). There were 27 cases (27.84%) with primary site at left colon, 59 cases (60.82%) at right colon and 11 cases (11.34%) at rectum. There were 56 cases (57.73%) with number of metastatic organs ≥2 and 41 cases (42.27%) <2. There were 58 cases (59.79%) treated with VEGF inhibitor before perforation, 40 cases (41.24%) with lung metastasis, 72 cases (74.23%) with liver metastasis, 30 cases (30.93%) with pelvic metastasis, 24 cases (24.74%) with distant lymph node metastasis, 56 cases (57.73%) with obstruction, and 35 cases (36.08%) with diverticulum. According to survival status at 3 years after after surgery, patients were divided into the death group (n = 78) and the survival group (n = 19). The level of plasma ctDNA in the death group was higher than that in the survival group (P<0.05). The area under curve (AUC) of ctDNA for predicting survival of patients was 0.806. According to ctDNA expression, patients were divided into the high expression group (n = 57) and the low expression group (n = 40). The survival rate in the high expression group was lower than that in the low expression group (7.02% (4/57) vs 36.38% (15/40)) (P<0.001). The median survival time for the two groups was 18.20 and 28.10 months, respectively. Conclusion. Clinical characteristics of metastatic colorectal cancer combined with gastrointestinal perforation include elderly age, obstruction, and diverticulum. The expression of ctDNA has evaluation value for prognosis of patients.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Metastatic colorectal cancer refers to the tumor cells of colorectal cancer invaded from the primary site to lymphatic vessels and blood vessels, or brought to other tissues and organs by other means, forming the same type of tumor as the primary site tumor [1]. Its prognosis is poor, and it is now believed that tumor invasion and metastasis are the main causes of death in patients with colorectal cancer. Metastatic colorectal cancer combined with gastrointestinal perforation is one of the common clinical emergency abdominal conditions associated with malignancy, which will increase the risk of colorectal peritoneal metastasis (CPM), and can rapidly develop into serious complications such as peritonitis and infectious shock, increasing perioperative mortality. Therefore, metastatic colorectal cancer combined with gastrointestinal perforation should be treated clinically with aggressive surgical intervention, but the recurrence rate after surgery is still as high as 56.5% [2], and patients still need to continue adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery in order to reduce the risk of recurrence. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a small fragment of gene released from solid lesions into the circulation system, mainly derived from tumor metabolism, and the genomic information carried by it is highly consistent with tumor tissue [3]. Relevant studies have pointed out that ctDNA detection can more accurately reflect the epigenetics of tumor-related genes, and then can be used to track the occurrence and development of tumors in the body [4]. At present, many clinical studies [5, 6] have shown that it can be used in the prognostic evaluation of various tumors. However, few studies have been reported on the prognostic evaluation value of ctDNA testing for metastatic colorectal cancer combined with gastrointestinal perforation. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the clinical features of metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation and the value of ctDNA in evaluating the prognosis of patients so as to provide a reference for the prognostic evaluation of the disease.


## 2. Materials and Methods

### 2.1. Clinical Data

97 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation from February 2016 to January 2019 were selected as the research objects. Inclusion criteria are as follows: (1) meet the diagnostic criteria for metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation [7], and it is pathologically confirmed to be metastatic colorectal cancer; (2) age ≥ 18 years old; (3) normal organ function; (4) voluntary participation in this study after informed consent; (5) those without contraindications to chemotherapy. Exclusion criteria are as follows: (1) patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma and other special types of tumor diseases; (2) patients who died of nondisease causes; (3) patients with other primary malignant tumor diseases; (4) patients with gastrointestinal perforation caused by other reasons; (5) patients with severe blood diseases; (6) pregnant women; (7) those who could not complete the follow-up; (8) those with ineligible or uncollectable baseline plasma specimens.


## 2.1. Clinical Data

97 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation from February 2016 to January 2019 were selected as the research objects. Inclusion criteria are as follows: (1) meet the diagnostic criteria for metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation [7], and it is pathologically confirmed to be metastatic colorectal cancer; (2) age ≥ 18 years old; (3) normal organ function; (4) voluntary participation in this study after informed consent; (5) those without contraindications to chemotherapy. Exclusion criteria are as follows: (1) patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma and other special types of tumor diseases; (2) patients who died of nondisease causes; (3) patients with other primary malignant tumor diseases; (4) patients with gastrointestinal perforation caused by other reasons; (5) patients with severe blood diseases; (6) pregnant women; (7) those who could not complete the follow-up; (8) those with ineligible or uncollectable baseline plasma specimens.


## 3. Methods

Collection of clinical data: it used the hospital information system to query the clinical data of the patients, such as age, gender, primary site of the lesion, and treatment with VEGF inhibitor before perforation.Detection of ctDNA level: 3 ml of fasting venous blood was taken from the patients 1 day before surgery. After anticoagulation treatment, centrifugation was performed at 2000 r/min for 10 min, and the upper plasma was separated, added the cell lysis solution and mixed well, separated the supernatant, added proteinase K, and let it stand at 56°C for 10 minutes after mixing. After the solution was clarified, added anhydrous ethanol and mixed well. After thorough washing, added rinsing solution, by centrifugal rinse twice, added eluate, used Tiangen Biochemical Blood Microgenomic DNA Extraction Kit to extract plasma ctDNA level, and applied Rado AQT90 FLEX fluorescence quantitative analyzer for detection.Follow-up methods: outpatient follow-up or telephone follow-up was used to follow up the survival of patients. The follow-up time was 3 years after surgery, or until the time of death of the patients. The patients were divided into the death group and the survival group according to their 3-year survival.


### 3.1. Observation Indicators

The observation indicators are as follows: (1) statistics of its clinicopathological characteristics; (2) comparison of ctDNA levels in the death and survival group, and analysis of its evaluation value on patients’ prognosis; (3) according to the level of ctDNA, the patients were divided into the high expression group and the low expression group, and the survival time between the two groups was compared, that is, the time from operation to death or the last follow-up time.


### 3.2. Statistical Processing

The SPSS22 software was used to process the data, the enumeration data were expressed with %, and theχ2 test was used to compare differences between groups; the measurement data were expressed as (x ± s) after normality test, and t-test was used to compare differences between groups; the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) curve was used to analyze the prognostic value of ctDNA in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal perforation. The area under curve (AUC) greater than 0.7 indicated that the index had diagnostic value, and AUC greater than 0.8 indicated that its diagnostic value was high; GraphPad Prism 5 was used for survival curve analysis, using Log-rank χ2 was used to compare the survival rates between the two groups. P<0.05 meant the difference was statistically significant.


## 3.1. Observation Indicators

The observation indicators are as follows: (1) statistics of its clinicopathological characteristics; (2) comparison of ctDNA levels in the death and survival group, and analysis of its evaluation value on patients’ prognosis; (3) according to the level of ctDNA, the patients were divided into the high expression group and the low expression group, and the survival time between the two groups was compared, that is, the time from operation to death or the last follow-up time.


## 3.2. Statistical Processing

The SPSS22 software was used to process the data, the enumeration data were expressed with %, and theχ2 test was used to compare differences between groups; the measurement data were expressed as (x ± s) after normality test, and t-test was used to compare differences between groups; the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) curve was used to analyze the prognostic value of ctDNA in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal perforation. The area under curve (AUC) greater than 0.7 indicated that the index had diagnostic value, and AUC greater than 0.8 indicated that its diagnostic value was high; GraphPad Prism 5 was used for survival curve analysis, using Log-rank χ2 was used to compare the survival rates between the two groups. P<0.05 meant the difference was statistically significant.


## 4. Results

### 4.1. Analysis of clinicopathological characteristics of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal perforation

The proportion of patients who were more than 60 years old, male, with primary site of the right colon high, is shown in Table1.Table 1
Clinicopathological characteristics of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation.
CharacteristicsCase (%)Age (years)≥6070 (72.16)< 6027 (27.84)Primary tumor stagingT4a55 (56.70)T4b42 (43.30)GenderMale61 (62.89)Female36 (37.11)Primary tumor siteLeft colon27 (27.84)Right colon59 (60.82)Rectum11 (11.34)Number of metastatic organs≥256 (57.73)<241 (42.27)Whether the primary tumor was removedYes38 (39.18)No59 (60.82)Treatment with a VEGF inhibitor prior to perforationYes58 (59.79)No39 (40.21)Combined lung metastases40 (41.24)Combined liver metastases72 (74.23)Combined pelvic metastases30 (30.93)Distant lymph node metastasis24 (24.74)Combined obstruction56 (57.73)Combined diverticula35 (36.08)


### 4.2. Comparison of ctDNA Expression between the Death Group and the Survival Group

The patients were divided into the death group (n = 78) and the survival group (n = 19) according to their 3-year survival after operation. The plasma ctDNA level of the death group was (86.59 ± 10.07) ng/mL, which was higher than that of the survival group (78.07 ± 8.52) ng/mL (P<0.05), is shown in Figure 1.Figure 1
Comparison of ctDNA expression between the death group and the survival group. Two groups were compared,∗P<0.05.


### 4.3. The Evaluation Value of ctDNA Expression in Prognosis

The AUC of ctDNA expression in predicting patient survival was 0.806, and the SE (95% CI) was 0.045 (0.718–0.894). The cutoff value was 79.58 ng/mL, as shown in Figure2.Figure 2
The evaluation value of ctDNA expression in prognosis.


### 4.4. Comparison of Survival Time of Patients with Different ctDNA Expressions

According to ctDNA expression, patients were divided into the high expression group (≥79.58 ng/mL) and low expression group (<79.58 ng/mL). The survival rate of the high expression group was 7.02% (4/57), which was lower than 36.38% (15/40) of the low expression group (Log-rankχ2 = 17.530, P<0.001). The median survival time of the two groups was 18.20 and 28.10 months, as shown in Figure 3.Figure 3
Survival curve analysis of patients with different ctDNA expression.


## 4.1. Analysis of clinicopathological characteristics of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal perforation

The proportion of patients who were more than 60 years old, male, with primary site of the right colon high, is shown in Table1.Table 1
Clinicopathological characteristics of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation.
CharacteristicsCase (%)Age (years)≥6070 (72.16)< 6027 (27.84)Primary tumor stagingT4a55 (56.70)T4b42 (43.30)GenderMale61 (62.89)Female36 (37.11)Primary tumor siteLeft colon27 (27.84)Right colon59 (60.82)Rectum11 (11.34)Number of metastatic organs≥256 (57.73)<241 (42.27)Whether the primary tumor was removedYes38 (39.18)No59 (60.82)Treatment with a VEGF inhibitor prior to perforationYes58 (59.79)No39 (40.21)Combined lung metastases40 (41.24)Combined liver metastases72 (74.23)Combined pelvic metastases30 (30.93)Distant lymph node metastasis24 (24.74)Combined obstruction56 (57.73)Combined diverticula35 (36.08)


## 4.2. Comparison of ctDNA Expression between the Death Group and the Survival Group

The patients were divided into the death group (n = 78) and the survival group (n = 19) according to their 3-year survival after operation. The plasma ctDNA level of the death group was (86.59 ± 10.07) ng/mL, which was higher than that of the survival group (78.07 ± 8.52) ng/mL (P<0.05), is shown in Figure 1.Figure 1
Comparison of ctDNA expression between the death group and the survival group. Two groups were compared,∗P<0.05.


## 4.3. The Evaluation Value of ctDNA Expression in Prognosis

The AUC of ctDNA expression in predicting patient survival was 0.806, and the SE (95% CI) was 0.045 (0.718–0.894). The cutoff value was 79.58 ng/mL, as shown in Figure2.Figure 2
The evaluation value of ctDNA expression in prognosis.


## 4.4. Comparison of Survival Time of Patients with Different ctDNA Expressions

According to ctDNA expression, patients were divided into the high expression group (≥79.58 ng/mL) and low expression group (<79.58 ng/mL). The survival rate of the high expression group was 7.02% (4/57), which was lower than 36.38% (15/40) of the low expression group (Log-rankχ2 = 17.530, P<0.001). The median survival time of the two groups was 18.20 and 28.10 months, as shown in Figure 3.Figure 3
Survival curve analysis of patients with different ctDNA expression.


## 5. Discussion

Colorectal cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system. With the improvement of living conditions, the change of diet structure and the increase of daily pressure, the incidence of colorectal cancer in my country is increasing year by year, which seriously threatens the life and health of patients. Clinical data show that metastatic colorectal cancer is one of the malignancies associated with spontaneous perforation, and the condition can deteriorate sharply with combined peptic perforation, and the mortality rate increases rapidly, which is one of the influential factors affecting poor prognosis, and the analysis of the clinical characteristics of patients with concomitant peptic perforation can help in early diagnosis [8]. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of complicated digestive tract perforation. Relevant studies have pointed out that free or encapsulated gas can be seen in colorectal cancer combined with gastrointestinal perforation during CT scan [9]. This study found that 36.08% of patients had diverticulosis, which was slightly higher than the 35.7% in the study carried out by Gao et al. [10], which may be related to the small number of patients included in the study. Metastatic tumors infiltrate the intestinal wall, leading to necrosis and ring control. The progression of the tumor leads to intestinal stenosis and obstruction, which leads to the expansion of the proximal intestinal lumen, and the increase of intestinal wall tension can cause the intestinal wall to rupture. Therefore, many patients have intestinal wall obstruction. The results of this study showed that 57.73% of patients with gastrointestinal perforation had intestinal wall obstruction. This study also found that the proportion of patients with liver metastasis was the highest. The reason is still unknown. The author believes that it may be related to the liver as the main distant metastasis of colorectal cancer. Relevant studies have pointed out that adverse reactions caused by antivascular drug therapy can lead to gastrointestinal perforation [11]. The results of this study showed that the proportion of patients treated with VEGF inhibitor before perforation was higher, further indicating that this regimen may increase the risk of gastrointestinal perforation.ctDNA detection is an emerging technology. Compared with traditional tumor tissue biopsy, it has the advantages of simplicity, ease of operation, and high reproducibility, which can increase patient acceptance [12, 13]. Relevant reports pointed out that ctDNA carries certain oncogene information of patients; therefore, ctDNA detection can provide important clues for the early diagnosis and efficacy assessment of tumor patients [14, 15]. ctDNA is endogenous tumor DNA of the organism, that is, free outside the cells in peripheral blood. It comes from vigorously proliferating tumors or necrosis and apoptosis of tumor cells and carries tumor-specific gene changes [16, 17]. Studies have found that ctDNA levels are closely related to the relevant tumor burden. Clinically, it is generally believed that primary tumor, metastases, and circulating tumor cells are the main sources of ctDNA [18, 19]. Some studies have also found that the infiltration and metastasis of cancer cells can lead to an increase in the level of ctDNA in the body [20, 21], suggesting that it may be related to the prognosis of patients. The results of this study showed that the plasma ctDNA level of the death group was higher than that of the survival group, and the survival rate of the high (ctDNA) expression group was lower than that of the low expression group, indicating that the higher the plasma ctDNA level was, the higher the risk of poor prognosis would be. The results of this study showed that the AUC of ctDNA expression to predict patient survival was 0.806, indicating that ctDNA has predictive value for patient prognosis.In conclusion, old age, combined obstruction, and diverticulum are the clinical features of metastatic colorectal cancer complicated with gastrointestinal perforation, and the expression of ctDNA has an evaluation value for the prognosis of patients. Since this study was a retrospective analysis and some patients had other underlying diseases, it might interfere with the results of ctDNA examination and affect the final conclusion. Therefore, a multicenter analysis is required in the later stage to verify the research results.



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