Molecular profiling and predictive value of circulating tumor cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer: an option for monitoring response to breast cancer related therapies

Mitra Tewes (1) , Bahriye Aktas (2) , Anja Welt (1) , Siemke Mueller (3) , Siegfried Hauch (4) , Rainer Kimmig (2) , Sabine Kasimir-Bauer (2)

1 Department of Internal Medicine (Cancer Research)
2 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
3 Zentrum für Innere Medizin, Kath. Marienkrankenhaus GmbH
4 AdnaGen AG

We analyzed circulating tumor cells (CTC) in blood of metastatic breast cancer patients ( = 42) and determined the ability of this method to predict therapy response. CTC from blood were analyzed before and during therapy for EpCAM, MUC1 and HER2 transcripts with the . The estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor expression was assessed by RT-PCR. The overall detection rate for CTC was 52% (thereof 86% EpCAM; 86% MUC1; 32% HER2; 35% ER; 12% PR). CTC were ER, PR and HER2 negative in 45% (ER), 78% (PR) and 60% (HER-2) of patients with steroid receptor-positive tumors. 29% of patients with HER2-negative tumors had HER2-positive CTC. The test predicted therapy response in 78% of all cases. Persistence of CTC significantly correlated with shorter overall survival ( = 0.005). Molecular profiling of CTC may offer superior prognostic information with regard to risk assessment for recurrence and predictive judgement of therapeutical regimens.

Mots clés: Circulating tumor cells; Molecular profiling; Therapy monitoring; Metastatic breast cancer

Mitra Tewes, Bahriye Aktas, Anja Welt, Siemke Mueller, Siegfried Hauch, et al.. Molecular profiling and predictive value of circulating tumor cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer: an option for monitoring response to breast cancer related therapies. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2008, 115 (3), pp.581-590. ⟨10.1007/s10549-008-0143-x⟩. ⟨hal-00478256⟩