Tito Leitão , Hospital da Luz Lisboa urologist, successfully concluded his doctorate degree in Medicine, last May 7, at the School of Medicine of Lisboa University (FMUL). His thesis, entitled “Detection of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in renal cancer – The impact of no-touch surgery” , earned the unanimous approval of the jury, with praise and distinction. “The research conducted for the thesis contributes significantly for the understanding of CTCs (circulating tumour cells) in renal cancer, opening new perspectives of investigation in the area, and has important implications in the clinical practice of renal oncologic surgery”, explained Tito Leitão, who is urologist at Hospital da Luz Lisboa since 2017, with vast experience in robotic and laparoscopic surgery in cases of kidney and prostate cancer. Among the main conclusions of the thesis, we highlight the following: The research on circulating tumour cells in renal cancer is in the exploratory phase, more studies being required for the technical standardization, so as to allow its routine application in the clinical practice. The systematic revision done in this thesis, the first on the field, has enabled the assessment of a more promising technique in the detection of such cells in renal cancer. Validation of a new microfluidic-based device to detect CTCs in renal cancer, the RUBYchip™. The results of the randomized prospective study, which compared the no-touch laparoscopic radical nephrectomy technique with the conventional one, showed that the no-touch technique is faster and as safe as the conventional technique, and does not appear to reduce the release of CTC or improve survival, suggesting that the last classical principle of renal oncologic surgery still in force, of the original five Robson principles, will soon fall down. One of the main findings of the project was the detection of circulating mesenchymal cells, that were believed to exist only in oncologic patients, in patients with oncocytomas and chronical inflammation. This finding raises an important question for the scientific community about the true nature and origin of these cells. To answer this question, a future molecular and genetic analysis of the cells will be conducted. In the photo above, the new doctor and the jury: Manuel Garrido (FMUL), Luís Costa (FMUL, advisor of the thesis), Tito Leitão, Helena Cortez Pinto (FMUL), Luís Mendes Pedro (FMUL), Miguel Silva Ramos (Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar – ICBAS), Rui Henrique (ICBAS), and João Taborda Barata (FMUL).
