Detection of occult HER2 mRNA-positive tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with operable breast cancer: evaluation of their prognostic relevance.
To evaluate whether HER2 mRNA could be used as a marker of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in women with operable breast cancer. A nested RT-PCR assay was developed and used for the detection of HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs. Blood from 216 women with early breast cancer obtained before adjuvant treatment was tested for HER2 mRNA-positive cells to assess their prognostic value. Nested RT-PCR for HER2 mRNA showed high sensitivity whereas no HER2 mRNA-positive cells could be identified in the blood of healthy donors. HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs were detected in 53 (24.5%) of 216 patients and HER2 mRNA detection was associated with reduced disease-free survival (DFS; P < 0.0001) and overall survival (OS; P = 0.004). In multivariate analysis, detection of HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs emerged as independent prognostic factor for DFS (P = 0.0001) and OS (P = 0.003). HER2 mRNA could be a valuable prognostic marker for the detection of CTCs in early breast cancer patients.
Apostolaki
Stella
S
Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Perraki
Maria
M
Kallergi
Galatea
G
Kafousi
Maria
M
Papadopoulos
Savvas
S
Kotsakis
Athanasios
A
Pallis
Athanasios
A
Xenidis
Nikolaos
N
Kalmanti
Lyda
L
Kalbakis
Kostas
K
Agelaki
Sofia
S
Kalykaki
Antonia
A
Stournaras
Christos
C
Stathopoulos
Efstathios
E
Georgoulias
Vassilis
V
Mavroudis
Dimitris
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases