Dissemination of cancer cells into circulation occurs by incisional biopsyof oral squamous cell carcinoma

To examine whether cancer cell dissemination results from incisional biopsy , we tried to detect squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells in peripheral bloo d before and after incisional biopsy by means of cytokeratin 19 (CK19) reve rse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The study population consisted of 20 patients with oral SCC; 10 were given incisional biopsies f ollowed by radical excision (the incisional biopsy group), and the remainin g 10 were treated by excisional biopsy alone (the excisional biopsy group). Ten non-oral cancer patients with benign oral lesions served as controls. Five-ml blood aspirates collected before and after incision were used for C K19 RT-PCR. Two (20.0%) of 10 patients from the incisional biopsy group wer e positive for CK19 transcripts in their peripheral blood drained 15 min af ter incision. In contrast, CK19 transcript was not detected either in the e xcisional biopsy group or in controls. Surgical invasiveness for oral cance r, including incisional biopsy, causes dissemination of cancer cells into c irculation, resulting in increased risk of metastasis.