title: Metastatic pattern and DNA ploidy in stage IV breast cancer at initial diagnosis. Relation to response and survival.
abstract: Sixty-nine patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) at initial diagnosis were analyzed to verify if metastatic pattern and clinical outcome are related to DNA ploidy determined by flow cytometry (FCM). Characteristics of 55 fully evaluable patients were as follows: median age: 61 years; postmenopausal: 75%; bone-only metastases (BM): 60%; extraosseous-only metastases (EM): 40%. Overall response rates (CR + PR) obtained with different chemotherapies and/or hormonal therapies were 58% and 68% for patients with BM and EM, respectively. Sixty percent of specimens resulted aneuploid, and the mean coefficient of variation of the complete series was 5.1%. In the whole group of patients DNA ploidy of primary tumor did not predict the metastatic pattern and had no influence upon response to treatment, duration of response, time to progression, and overall survival. When analyses were carried out according to metastatic pattern, those patients with BM showed similar results. However, within the group with EM, those with diploid tumors presented a significantly better survival (median 18 vs 13 months, p = .04). FCM-DNA analysis seems to identify a subgroup of patients with poor prognosis constituted by those who had aneuploid primary tumors and metastases to extraosseous sites.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Oncologico, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Lena
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rabinovich
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vallejo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Machiavelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cuevas
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lacava
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perez
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy; D000367:Age Factors; D000782:Aneuploidy; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D004171:Diploidy; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011003:Ploidies; D011379:Prognosis; D012074:Remission Induction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm