"Therapeutic modalities that explore CTC removal via blood filtration may potentially have promising clinical benefits."
BUFFALO, NY - July 24, 2025 – A new case report was published in Volume 16 of Oncotarget on July 23, 2025, titled " Extracorporeal blood filtration leading to tumor growth arrest and reduced analgesic requirements in Stage IV poorly differentiated pancreatic adenocarcinoma: A case report ."
In this report, Susanna Ulahannan from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and colleagues describe the use of extracorporeal blood filtration in a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The patient experienced clinical improvement, reduced pain, and no signs of new tumor growth over 12 months of follow-up.
Metastatic pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat and is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. In this case, a 51-year-old woman with stage IV poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma chose not to undergo standard chemotherapy. Instead, she received extracorporeal blood filtration with the Seraph® 100 device, which is designed to remove circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the bloodstream. CTCs are thought to contribute to the spread of cancer to other organs.
"Circulating tumor cells (CTC's) are tumor cells that are shed from the primary tumor and travel via blood or lymphatic system to form micro metastases in distant organs under a suitable environment."
The patient received between nine and twelve treatments over the course of a year. These treatments were performed both abroad, where the device is approved for this use, and under a clinical protocol in the United States. Medical imaging showed that her disease remained stable, with no new metastases detected. She also reported improvements in appetite, energy levels, and pain control. Her opioid use was reduced by 90%.
Blood samples confirmed a drop in CTC levels after treatment. This observation supports the idea that removing CTCs might help limit cancer progression in some patients. However, given that this is a single case report, larger clinical studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.
The mechanism behind the patient's pain relief is not fully understood. Authors suggest that it may be related to the reduction of tumor cells or inflammatory molecules in the blood. Researchers noted that pro-inflammatory cytokines, known to influence pain, could also have been affected by the filtration process.
This is the first documented case of stable disease and reduced symptoms following CTC filtration in advanced pancreatic cancer. While these findings should not be generalized, they highlight an approach outside standard protocols that should be further explored in clinical research. Future studies will be needed to determine whether this method can contribute to symptom management or disease control in other patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Continue reading: DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28756
