Tissue factor as a novel marker for detection of circulating cancer cells.
Tissue factor (TF) is a molecular marker that is up-regulated in cancer cells and aids tumoral dissemination. Our purpose was to develop a nested RT-PCR strategy against TF for detecting blood-borne tumour cells. Our method detected TF expression in a minimum of 1.5 pg total RNA from MCF7 cells. A preliminary study in blood samples from 16 advanced breast carcinoma patients showed that 80% of patients with high TF load progressed and died, while only 18% with low TF load showed the same behaviour. Kaplan-Meier analysis confirmed worse overall survival in patients with high TF load.
Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Science and Technology, Quilmes National University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
L L
LL
Otero
D F
DF
Alonso
M
M
Castro
G
G
Cinat
M R
MR
Gabri
D E
DE
Gomez
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013925:Thromboplastin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D015415:Biomarkers; D013925:Thromboplastin