Clinical usefulness of measuring the number of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) in breast cancer patients
Journal Title: OncoReview - Year 2013, Vol 3, Issue 3
Abstract
Background: Monitoring the breast cancer patients after an adjuvant therapy usually involves imaging methods or biopsy. Alternatively, breast cancer markers can be determined – one of them is the number of circulating tumor cells (CTC).Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of standard monitoring methods and those based on CTC count.Materials and methods: Systematic review of PubMed database was performed. Inclusion criteria were met by 16 clinical trials, 9 reviews and 5 treatment recommendations.Results: CTC assay sensitivity was between 39% and 55% compared to the imaging, and 64% in combination with CA 27.29 (cancer antigen 27.29) marker. CTC specificity for the detection level of < 5 or ≥ 5 CTCs in blood was almost 100%. CTC assay enables correct classification of patients according to the neoplastic disease progression. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were correlated with blood CTCs in metastatic patients. The study results suggest a link between CTC level and imaging diagnosis. Patients with CTC ≥ 5 were at a higher risk of disease progression, as diagnosed by radiographic methods, than patients with CTC < 5.Conclusions: Blood CTC measurement is a good clinical predictor of overall survival and progression-free survival and can be used for treatment efficacy monitoring in patients at high risk of recurrence or progression during advanced breast cancer treatment.
Authors and Affiliations
Dariusz Brenski
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP67724
- DOI -
- Views 233
- Downloads 0
Changes in the gastrointestinal mucosa after radio- and chemotherapy of the neoplasms
Gastrointestinal mucositis induced by radio- and chemotherapy of the neoplasms is associated with morphological changes in the mucosa of the alimentary tract. The pain, ulceration, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are the e...
Compliance, adherence, persistence – przyczyny i konsekwencje niestosowania się pacjentów do zaleceń terapeutycznych
Nieprzestrzeganie zaleceń terapeutycznych znajduje się wśród najpoważniejszych problemów zdrowotnych ludzkości. Zostało uznane za jedną z najważniejszych przeszkód w osiąganiu korzyści z terapii opartej na aktualnej wied...
Terapia ewerolimusem u pacjenta z zaawansowanym nowotworem neuroendokrynnym trzustki – opis przypadku
Coraz częstsze występowanie nowotworów neuroendokrynnych przewodu pokarmowego jest spowodowane nie tylko rzeczywistym wzrostem zachorowalności, ale także postępem w zakresie ich diagnostyki. Właściwe rozpoznanie oraz oce...
Application of molecular markers in the diagnostics of thyroid focal lesions – current state of knowledge
Thyroid nodular disease is a common disorder and affects about 20% of adult polish population. Due to the fact that methods currently applied in routine assessment of these changes often do not provide accurate diagnosis...
The role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factors in the prevention of neutropenia and febrile neutropenia – the current state of knowledge
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors, introduced in the 1990s to prevent neutropenic fever, improve patients’ prognosis after myelotoxic chemotherapy. G-CSFs accelerate bone marrow recovery, shortening the duration of...