Skip Navigation



Annals of Oncology Advance Access published online on December 4, 2007
Annals of Oncology, doi:10.1093/annonc/mdm558
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/5/891    most recent
mdm558v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nolé, F.
Right arrow Articles by Sandri, M. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nolé, F.
Right arrow Articles by Sandri, M. T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2007 European Society for Medical Oncology

Variation of circulating tumor cell levels during treatment of metastatic breast cancer: prognostic and therapeutic implications

F. Nolé1,*, E. Munzone1, L. Zorzino2, I. Minchella1, M. Salvatici2, E. Botteri3, M. Medici1, E. Verri1, L. Adamoli1, N. Rotmensz3, A. Goldhirsch1 and M. T. Sandri2

1 Division of Medical Oncology, Medical Care Unit
2 Unit of Laboratory Medicine
3 Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology, Milano, Italy

* Correspondence to: Dr F. Nolé, Medical Care Unit, European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milano, Italy. Tel: +39-02-57489-460; Fax: +39-02-57489-457; E-mail: franco.nole{at}ieo.it

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detection in advanced breast cancer patients.

Patients and methods: We tested 80 patients for CTC levels before starting a new treatment and after 4, 8 weeks, at the first clinical evaluation and every 2 months thereafter. CTCs were detected using the CellSearch SystemTM.

Results: Forty-nine patients had ≥5 CTCs at baseline. At the multivariate analysis, baseline number of CTCs was significantly associated with progression-free survival [hazard ratio (HR) 2.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2–5.4]. The risk of progression for patients with CTCs ≥5 at last available blood draw was five times the risk of patients with 0–4 CTCs at the same time point (HR 5.3; 95% CI 2.8–10.4). Patients with rising or persistent ≥5 CTCs at last available blood draw showed a statistically significant higher risk of progression with respect to patients with <5 CTCs at both blood draws (HR 6.4; 95% CI 2.8–14.6).

Conclusion: CTCs basal value is a predictive indicator of prognosis and changes in CTC levels during therapy may indicate a clinical response. Testing CTC levels during targeted treatments might substitute other measurement parameters for response evaluation.

advanced breast cancer, breast cancer, circulating tumor cells, novel assay technology, prognostic value, tumor markers

Received for publication September 6, 2007. Revision received November 6, 2007. Accepted for publication November 7, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.