title: Detection of occult HER2 mRNA-positive tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with operable breast cancer: evaluation of their prognostic relevance.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Apostolaki
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perraki
authors.forename: Galatea
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kallergi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kafousi
authors.forename: Savvas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kotsakis
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pallis
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Xenidis
authors.forename: Lyda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kalmanti
authors.forename: Kostas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kalbakis
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agelaki
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalykaki
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stournaras
authors.forename: Efstathios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stathopoulos
authors.forename: Vassilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Georgoulias
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mavroudis
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases