Detection of occult HER2 mRNA-positive tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with operable breast cancer: evaluation of their prognostic relevance

Stella Apostolaki (1) , Maria Perraki (1) , Galatea Kallergi (2) , Maria Kafousi (3) , Savvas Papadopoulos (4) , Athanasios Kotsakis (5) , Athanasios Pallis (5) , Nikolaos Xenidis (5) , Lyda Kalmanti (5) , Kostas Kalbakis (5) , Sofia Agelaki (5) , Antonia Kalykaki (5) , Christos Stournaras (2) , Efstathios N. Stathopoulos (3) , Vassilis Georgoulias (1, 5) , Dimitris Mavroudis (1, 5)

1 Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, School of Medicine
2 Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine
3 Department of Pathology
4 Department of Pathology
5 Department of Medical Oncology

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;  < 0.0001) and overall survival (OS;  = 0.004). In multivariate analysis, detection of HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs emerged as independent prognostic factor for DFS ( = 0.0001) and OS ( = 0.003). HER2 mRNA could be a valuable prognostic marker for the detection of CTCs in early breast cancer patients.

Mots clés: HER2 mRNA; Breast cancer; Circulating tumor cells; Prognosis

Stella Apostolaki, Maria Perraki, Galatea Kallergi, Maria Kafousi, Savvas Papadopoulos, et al.. Detection of occult HER2 mRNA-positive tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with operable breast cancer: evaluation of their prognostic relevance. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2008, 117 (3), pp.525-534. ⟨10.1007/s10549-008-0239-3⟩. ⟨hal-00478280⟩