Perioperative cancer cell dissemination detected with a real-time RT-PCR assay for EpCAM is not associated with worse prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Abstract Background Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) has been used as surrogate marker for the quantification of circulating tumour cells (CTC).Our aim was to prospectively study the value of a real-time RT-PCR assay for EpCAM detection in the peripheral blood and peritoneal cavity of patients undergoing pancreatectomy for pancreatic ducta