CTCs Predict Breast Cancer Survival

A new study has concluded that the detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) before the initiation of first-line therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer is highly predictive of both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

CTCs are cancer cells that detach from solid tumors and enter the blood stream and are implicated in the metastatic disease process. To automate the isolation and enumeration of CTCs, researchers in a multi-institutional trial used the platform and reagent technology of Immunicon Corp. (Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA). The study reports on data from a subset of 177 patients in the trial, whose purpose was to determine the relationship between the presence of CTCs and PFS and OS.

The study's authors not only found that the detection of CTCs in patients with metastatic breast cancer is highly predictive of PFS and OS but also that the technology can be used to stratify patients and design treatments tailored to their needs. Their findings were reported in the March 1, 2005, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"The results demonstrated that the detection of CTCs in patients who are about to start first-line treatment is associated with significant prognostic information and may lead to a reclassification of the disease,” commented lead author Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., associate professor in the department of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, USA). "Furthermore, the persistence of CTCs at three to four weeks after the treatment is started continues to be significantly associated with prognosis. These data suggest the value of this technology in the identification of patients resistant to therapy, and these patients could benefit from early treatment change and/or more investigational approaches.”





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M.D. Anderson