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Circulating Tumor Cell Clusters and MBC Outcomes
Breast Cancer Res Treat; ePub 2016 Oct 22; Wang, et al
Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters provided more prognostic value than CTC enumeration alone in women with metastatic breast cancer, according to a longitudinal study involving 128 individuals. Moreover, a larger-size CTC-cluster correlated with a higher risk of death.
Investigators tallied CTCs and CTC-clusters in 370 blood samples. They compared links between baseline, first follow-up, and longitudinal enumerations of CTCs and CTC-clusters with progression-free and overall survival. Among the results:
- CTC and CTC-cluster counts at baseline and first follow-up were significantly linked with patient progression-free and overall survival.
- Analysis of longitudinally collected samples confirmed the significantly unfavorable survival link in patients with ≥5 CTCs.
- Patients with 2-cell CTC-clusters had nearly 8-fold higher odds of poorer overall survival than those without CTC.
- Those with ≥3-cell CTC-clusters had nearly 15-fold higher odds of such.
Wang C, Mu Z, Chervoneva I, et al. Longitudinally collected CTCs and CTC-clusters and clinical outcomes of metastatic breast cancer. [Published online ahead of print October 22, 2016]. Breast Cancer Res Treat. doi:10.1007/s10549-016-4026-2.